Wisconsin slaughter Wolf advocates hope to curb what they call grossly inhumane and environmentally harmful forms of ‘hunting.’ page 14

April 17, 2014 | Vol. 5 No. 11 Dark political money clouds Earth’s future page 4

6 Saving Sadie 19 Snow White en pointe 20 A dancing Ira Glass 22 Unaffected art 29 Hard-boiled ideas Shot and left for dead, Michael Pink’s original Popular PBS host of ‘This May 4 is the last chance Before you give up on Sadie survived to become ballet ‘Mirror, Mirror’ pre- American Life’ appears at to see MAM’s ‘Uncom- those leftover Easter Eggs, an advocate for animal mieres amid much antici- The Riverside in an unlike- mon Folk,’ which showcas- check out Mike Muckian’s welfare and the disabled. pation on May 15. ly show with two dancers. es its vast folk collection. tantalizing ideas. 2 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 News with a twist WiGWAG By Lisa Neff & Louis Weisberg BIGGEST ASS in jail, the dough gets Super Mighty. in London is serving coffee, QUESTIONABLE VISITS MADISON doubled for landing on Go And he’s not tea, cakes and sandwiches QUALITY The world’s tallest horse and when a player lands getting cherry and offering two hours of A woman in Lufkin, Texas, and tallest donkey each on free parking, he or she empanadas or cuddle time with the house was arrested for posses- made an appearance at the cleans up. But there just chicken roas- kitty cats. Customers pay 5 sion of drug paraphernalia. 35th annual Midwest Horse weren’t enough votes for titos or nacho pounds — about $8.29 — She caught the attention of Fair at the Alliant Energy that “Mom gets out of jail buffitos. Do you think he for feline friendship. Coffee police when she called to Center grounds in Madison for free” rule. knows? The Mighty Taco and crumpets cost extra. complain about the inferior the weekend of April 11. Big ad appeared in just one The name of cozy cafe? quality of the pot she pur- Jake is a Belgian gelding GOOD VIBRATIONS print publication in upstate Lady Dinah’s Cat Empori- chased from a dealer, who and lives on Smokey Hol- Between 2006 and 2011, New York but it went viral um. Do WiGWAG readers wouldn’t give her a refund. low Farm near Poynette. the U.S. Medicare program on Facebook — and was know their Alice in Wonder- The woman, according At one-quarter-inch shy of spent $172 million on penis translated into Polish, Rus- land? to the police report, was 6-feet, 11 inches and weigh- pumps, but zilch for vibra- sian and Ukrainian. annoyed she spent $40 on ing 2,600 pounds, Jake tors. That’s despite the “seeds and residue.” holds the Guinness World fact that vibrators have RECRUITMENT THE PRICE record. Romulus, the tallest well-documented health PLAN FOILED OF CELEBACY CLUCK CLUCK donkey, is 5 feet, 8 inches. benefits for women and are South Carolina Repub- An Italian priest was dis- Chick-fil-A, championed He’s from Red Oak, Texas, used to treat survivors of lican state Sen. Mike Fair HISTORY LESSON missed after police charged by Mike Huckabee and a state that’s produced its gynecological cancers and forced the cancellation of Julia Louis-Dreyfus bet- him with stealing money beloved by homophobes share of notable asses. other conditions. Vibrators the play How to Be a Les- ter hope her latest tattoo is from a convent to pay for everywhere, is the No. 1 help increase blood flow bian in 10 Days or Less at temporary. The cover image sex with a Moroccan boy chicken chain in the Unit- OCCUPY and release estrogen. the South Carolina Upstate of the latest Rolling Stone toy, according to an Ital- ed States. Data show the FREE PARKING University. Fair said the magazine featuring the Veep ian newspaper. Police told Atlanta-based company Several thousand people PUTIN PROTEST satirical one-woman com- star depicts Louis-Dreyfus the paper that nuns from surpassed KFC in 2012 and cast votes in a recent Face- Mighty Taco, a fast food edy was designed to recruit with a tattoo of the U.S. a convent in the northern continued to be the top book campaign to decide chain based in Buffalo, N.Y., lesbians. According to its Constitution signed by John Veneto region entrusted earner in 2013. Yum Brands, the latest “House rules” for has banned Vladimir Putin website, How To Be a Les- Hancock on her back. The the cash to the unidentified KFC’s parent company, is Hasbro’s Monopoly. A year from its 23 restaurants for bian in 10 Days Or Less is problem is Hancock signed priest, who in turn paid it testing the new concept ago, the people spoke — the Russian president’s “an exploration of self-dis- the Declaration of Indepen- to a young man with whom restaurant Super Chix in and replaced the iron token decision to seize Crimea covery and first love, com- dence, not the Constitution. he’s had a “long-standing Texas. The innovative idea? with a cat. Now the people from Ukraine. Putin might ing out, lesbian sex, queer relationship.” The priest Chicken sandwiches, chick- have spoken and said there be ordering around Crimea, politics, and a really impor- KITTIES AND COFFEE was immediately dismissed en tenders, fries and ice is no rent collection while but he’s not ordering a tant Reba McEntire song.” One of the newest cafes for “health reasons.” cream. WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 3 4 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 Dark political money imperils Earth’s future By Lisa Neff services and prohibit local governments Staff writer from requiring contractors to meet labor Poliitical contributions designed to standards. weaken environmental regulations can be • Oppose waste-reduction and difficult to track. They’re moved through mandatory recycling laws. a network of right-wing campaigns, • Authorize state governments to open foundations, think tanks and political federal public land for oil, gas and coal groups. exploration. Americans for Prosperity is one of many • Require that state environmental such groups. protections be approved by a corporate- The State Policy Network is another, a backed panel. web of 60-plus think tanks — or “stink • Criminalize environmental and animal- tanks,” as they were called in a recent welfare activism. exposé by the Madison-based Center for ALEC, AFP and SPN all have ties to Media and Democracy and Progress Now. conservative billionaire brothers Charles The American Legislative Exchange and David Koch, whose preferred front Council is yet another group. The groups have invested far more in the effort to organization of lawmakers, corporations deny, skepticize and belittle the significance and interest groups drafts and promotes of global warming than ExxonMobil, “model” legislation on a range of issues. according to an analysis of information ALEC’s best-known laws are the anti-union, from Greenpeace, the Center for Media and anti-voter and anti-immigration laws that Democracy and other sources. were approved by legislatures around “Like a play on Broadway, the climate the country with the votes of lawmakers change countermovement has stars in the who receive huge donations from ALEC spotlight — often prominent contrarian members. ALEC’s “stand your ground” coal and dismantling energy efficiency mine workers. scientists or conservative politicians — model bill, a bonanza for the manufacturers standards. • Create hurdles for state agencies but behind the stars is an organizational of firearms and ammunition, is also well ALEC’s “polluter agenda,” according attempting to regulate carbon gases. structure of directors, script writers and known. to the Center for Media and Democracy, • Oppose protections on carbon dioxide producers in the form of conservative But in 2014, ALEC is betting its includes measures to: emissions. foundations,” said Robert Brulle, an seemingly unlimited supply of cash on • Oppose the EPA’s regulation of • Prevent the EPA from overruling state environmental sociologist and the author a slew of measures aimed at weakening greenhouse gases from mobile sources. permits for coal mining. of a report on climate change denials environmental protections, cutting • Give Congress the authority to block • Give legal protection to corporations renewable energy, increasing reliance on enforcement of federal protections on against victims of lead poisoning. clean air and water and safeguards for • Privatize public water and sewage EARTH next page WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 5

EARTH from prior page jobs. into our towns and cities and wanting to published in Climatic Change. “If you want to Opponents of the mine say the project, influence local codes and zoning regulations FOR THE PLANET PLANNER understand what’s driving this movement, located about 7 miles south of the Bad and land use plans,” said environmental WiG is growing a calendar of Earth you have to look at what’s going on behind River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa activist Tom Geske of Madison. Day-related activities in the state and the scenes.” reservation, would pollute pristine rivers The Koch brothers are significant beyond. For a list of events on or around What’s going on behind the scenes is and local groundwater. supporters of Walker and his gubernatorial April 22, go to www.wisconsingazette. wealthy polluters are investing in climate Republican lawmakers, led by Gov. bids. Before the recall election, David Koch com. change denial and opposing environmental Scott Walker, cleared the way for the told the Palm Beach Post in Florida, “We’re policies to protect their wealth and operation by stripping down the state’s helping him, as we should. We’ve spent a industries. mining regulations. Now, to some degree, lot of money in Wisconsin. We’re going to brothers get the 2013 Rubber Dodo for Koch Industries, a multinational group the project’s future will be determined at spend more.” a terrible global legacy that could take of companies invested in petroleum, the county level, where the county board hundreds of years to undo.” chemicals, energy, gas liquids, asphalt and Gogebic are negotiating over zoning RUBBER DODO The award gets its name for the dodo, and other polluting products, is the 10th regulations. Last fall, the Center for Biological perhaps the most famous extinct species worst air polluter in the United States, County board races typically don’t catch Diversity, a national environmental group, on Earth after the dinosaurs. The bird according to the Political Economy Research the attention of national political groups, took notice of the Koch brothers’ work and evolved over millions of years with no Institute. KI releases about 200,000 tons of and Americans for Prosperity’s interest gave them an award: the 2013 Rubber Dodo. natural predators and eventually lost the atmospheric carbon dioxide annually. in Iron County has environmentalists “When it comes to pulling levers behind ability to fly. Having never known predators, And Koch Industries has a long record across the United States concerned that the scenes for those who wreck our climate, it showed no fear of the humans who of environmental crimes and violations. the Koched-up organization — and other destroy wild places and attempt to kill our found it on Mauritius, or the animals that Greenpeace offered a review: national right-wing groups with records last remaining wildlife, the Koch brothers accompanied them to the island in the • A $1.7 million fine by the EPA and ofdistorting the facts and manipulating the are in a class by themselves,” said Kieran Indian Ocean in 1598. The bird’s trusting a $500 million commitment to correct science on environmental issues — will Suckling, executive director of the CBD. nature led to its rapid extinction — by 1681, pollution violations in seven states. plant more campaigns on local turfs. “These guys are the poster children for the dodo had disappeared. • Millions of gallons of spilled oil from “This is trouble, if these guys are moving despicable corporate greed. The Koch Koch pipelines. • A $25 million settlement in 2001 for falsifying records for oil collected on federal and Native American lands. • A $20 million settlement in 2000 for falsifying documents relating to a major release of the carcinogen benzene. • A 1996 explosion, caused by a leaking gas pipeline, that killed two people.

INFLUENCING LOCAL CODES Democratic state Rep. Brett Hulsey woke up one day after the spring election with a sunny outlook on the results in Iron County. There, on April 1, Victor Ouimette, Brad Matson and Karl Krall defeated incumbent supervisors on the county board. The three were among seven candidates branded by Americans for Prosperity as opponents of Gogebic Taconite’s plans for an open-pit iron mine in the Penokee Hills in northern Wisconsin. AFP has strong ties to conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch, who own Koch Industries. AFP invested in two full-color campaign mailings seeking to elect candidates in favor of the mine and to defeat those seen as opponents, although Krall and Ouimette had told news media they support the mine. After the election, Hulsey pitched a proposal to create a Penokee Hills Conservation Area, noting that three people opposed by the Koch brothers won on Election Day. “The Penokee Hills should be conserved forever, not strip mined by a big campaign donor,” said Hulsey, a member of the jobs and tourism committees in the Assembly. He argued that a conservation area could promote sustainable jobs, conserve recreational areas, promote sustainable forestry, protect drinking water sources, fisheries and wildlife habitat and also protect sacred Native American sites from destruction. “Northern Wisconsin needs jobs now, not more arguing and lawsuits,” Hulsey said. Proponents of the mine, which would be about 4 miles long and hundreds of feet deep, say it could create 700 long-term 6 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 Shot and left for dead, Sadie is now a champion for animal welfare By Louis Weisberg of puppy mills, which Derse-Dauer believes Staff writer are responsible for the kind of cruelty Sadie Before Hank, there was Sadie. suffered: She had given birth to a litter Hank was found wandering around the of puppies not long before her shooting. Brewers’ spring training facility in Arizona Derse-Dauer later learned that puppy mills with an injured tail and markings on his leg in Southern states commonly dispose of suggesting a car-related injury. The Brewers breeding females in this manner. rescued the pooch, and in return he seems to have rallied the team and its fans. After SADIE’S PATH a forgettable season last year, the Brewers Sadie’s path almost crossed Hank’s at began 2014 with a standing ovation for Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Hank and nine straight wins. Airport in March. On the same day that Sadie was less fortunate, but her reha- Hank flew into Milwaukee from Arizona on bilitation has been all the more inspiring Southwest Airlines, Sadie returned to Mil- because of it. She was found in the woods waukee via Southwest from Ft. Lauderdale, of Kentucky with a bullet hole between her Fla., where she was filming an episode of PHOTO: COURTESY eyes and a bullet and shrapnel lodged in The Balancing Act for Lifetime TV. The pro- A DOG’S LIFE: Sadie relaxes on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale during a recent trip to flim her spine. Someone had shot the doe-eyed, gram airs on May 1. an episode of Lifetime TV’s The Balancing Act. 5-year-old dog and left her paralyzed and Sadie and Derse-Dauer travel frequently doomed to die a slow, torturous death. around the country to advocate for tougher animal-welfare activist began at the end of py and many other techniques. “It was a failed execution,” said Joal Der- regulation of dog breeders, as well as for the April 2012, when animal-lover Derse-Dauer, “She takes a shoe box of supplements se-Dauer, the dog’s adopted human com- rights of people with disabilities. This year, who currently has two dogs and two cats, every day — but no drugs,” Derse-Dauer panion. “They just left her for dead. I guess Sadie went to both the Golden Globes and dropped by a local animal shelter to donate said. they figured, ‘Why waste another bullet the Oscars. blankets. She was about to leave when “I just check out every single avenue I can. when she’ll be dead by morning,’” She’s also a spokes-puppy for Goofurr, a Sadie’s large brown eyes caught her atten- I don’t care how far-fetched it is.” Through an unlikely series of events, product that mixes with pills to get uncoop- tion. Derse-Dauer asked a volunteer about Sadie has surprised veterinarians with Sadie’s fate and that of Muskego resident erative felines to take their medication. the dog’s story. her miraculous progress. She’s no longer Derse-Dauer have become entwined. The Derse-Dauer would like to find additional The volunteer recounted how someone incontinent, and although she still can’t two are on an astonishing journey to raise corporate sponsors. had brought Sadie to Wisconsin, specifi- walk without assistance, there’s evidence of awareness of animal cruelty and the horror Sadie’s journey from puppy factory to cally because the state has no-kill shelters, nerve regeneration in her hind legs. and left her there. At the time, Sadie was Except for refusing to use a wagon that paralyzed and incontinent. functions as a wheelchair, Sadie cooperates “I scooped her up and took her to a few fully in her recuperative activities, Derse- doctors, who gave Sadie a grim prognosis,” Dauer said. She’s alert, happy and active, Derse-Dauer says on her website savingsa- with a tail that’s constantly wagging. She die.com. Two veterinarians encouraged her evinces no sign of pain or repercussions of to put Sadie to sleep. the abuse she suffered. But Derse-Dauer saw life in Sadie’s eyes, Since Sadie is quite possibly the only she said on a recent visit to WiG’s office. dog to have ever undergone such inten- She took Sadie to a vet who removed the sive treatment, her long-term prognosis bullet from her brain, and together she and is unknown. But for now, she’s clearly a the dog embarked on an intensive — and contented, active and loving dog, with an expensive — regimen of rehabilitation that uncanny air of calmness and knowing eyes. involves a lot of alternative medicine. So long as Sadie continues to thrive, Derse- Sadie undergoes daily exercise and physi- Dauer will continue supporting her in every cal therapy, including swimming, acupunc- way possible, she said, even though the ture, aqua puncture, laser treatments, chi- cost and scheduling involved have radically ropractic sessions, e-stim therapy, Power altered her life. Derse-Dauer is a consultant Plate therapy, cutting-edge stem-cell thera- SADIE next page

YOU are invited to join St. James for Holy Week services and fellowship: Maundy Thursday Service: April 17 @ 7PM Good Friday Service: April 18 @ 7PM Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil: April 19 @ 8PM Easter Sunday Service: April 20 @ 10AM

“This Church of ours is open to all…There will be NO outcasts!” ––– The Most Rev. Edmond Browning 833 W Wisconsin Ave • Milwaukee, WI 53233 • (414) 271-1340 • www.stjamesmilwaukee.org WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 7 SADIE from prior page “We do see a lot of neglect” however, the task force was successful last year in Mohandas Gandhi to companies that are downsizing. Speed acknowledged. “A lot of pets don’t updating Milwaukee’s animal control ordi- Derse-Dauer acknowledged that many have proper care or training. We respond to nance to criminalize the possession of dog- said that the people have questioned the sanity of her calls where they’ve been left outside in the fighting paraphernalia and to make it illegal quest and the toll it’s taken on the two of cold or in the heat in dangerous conditions.” to be a spectator at dog-fighting events “greatness of a them. Derse-Dauer bristles at the notion A Wisconsin statute classifies cruelty and to keep animals in garages, sheds and that Sadie is somehow suffering or feels that results in mutilation, disfigurement or vacant structures. nation and its moral incomplete. death of an animal as a Class I felony, The updated ordinance made it man- “She’s not a poor thing,” Derse-Dauer punishable by up to three and a half years datory for the owner of an animal that’s progress can be said, glancing down at Sadie, who respond- imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Animal been designated as dangerous to have a judged by the way its ed by lovingly narrowing her eyes and wag- welfare advocates, including Derse-Dauer, microchip inserted into the animal for iden- ging her tail. “Her personality is lively and seek to enhance the penalty. tification purposes. Another change was animals are treated.” animated. She flies down the stairs in the Wisconsin also has a law that sets stan- enhanced penalties for second and subse- morning. When the plane lands, she looks dards and regulates dog breeders. Act 90, quent violations of dog- and cat-licensing out the window. She will not sit down in my passed in 2009, was the last piece of legis- requirements, animal-cruelty prohibition car. She wants to soak in life. She takes half lation to receive unanimous approval by the and animal fighting. Legislature. The compassionate care afford- Kline said it’s important for people to an hour to eat a bowl of food. She savors DO YOU KNOW? every bite.” ed dogs in the state makes Wisconsin’s contact elected officials and urge them to wolf-hunting laws, which are considered the support laws that promote animal welfare. • 76 percent of animal abusers also most barbaric in the nation (see story, page She urges people to report animal abuse abuse a family member, accord- MORAL DIMENSIONS ing to a study conducted by the Mohandas Gandhi said that the “great- 14), all the more startling. The Wisconsin they witness to law-enforcement agencies. Humane Society is part of a lawsuit to over- “The way we treat animals is critical to Association of Prosecuting Attor- ness of a nation and its moral progress neys. can be judged by the way its animals are turn a GOP-backed law permitting domestic our social fabric and the safety of our com- treated.” Angela Speed, director of commu- dogs to be used in the state’s annual wolf munities,” Kline said. “We’re glad to live in • Adult males convicted of animal nications of the Wisconsin Humane Society, slaughter. a county where people take these concerns cruelty are five times as likely to agrees. Recognizing not only the immorality of seriously.” commit violent crimes against “Animal abuse reflects the health of the animal abuse, but also the danger it repre- children and acts of domestic whole community,” she said. sents to society, the City of Milwaukee has violence. created a task force to coordinate training Behavioral researchers also agree: Sev- HOW TO CONTRIBUTE • 71 percent of battered women eral major studies have found that people so that anti-abuse laws are enforced. The You can contribute to Sadie’s care report that their pets have been who are cruel to animals are also far more group, which includes representatives from at the website savingsadie.com or by threatened, harmed or killed by likely to commit violent acts against people, the Wisconsin Humane Society, the district sending a check to Saving Sadie, P.O. their abusive partners. especially women and children. attorney’s office, the city attorney’s office, Box 413, Muskego, WI 53150. Joal Fortunately, animal abuse is relatively the Department of Neighborhood Services • South Dakota recently became Derse-Dauer says that “every penny rare in Milwaukee, Speed said. For example, and the Milwaukee Area Domestic Ani- the 50th state to adopt felony- donated goes toward Sadie’s rehabili- the recent case of a dog named Beatrice mal Control Commission, meets every other level charges for animal cruelty. tation,” which costs about $20,000 who was set on fire in Milwaukee made the month. annually. —L.W. news precisely because such incidents are Jill Kline, education and advocacy manag- infrequent, she said. er for the Wisconsin Humane Society, said 8 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 Wisconsin support for marriage equality rising By Lisa Neff a 19-point margin — that bans same-sex gender identity in employment. Staff writer couples from marrying in the state. An • 40 percent of voters described their Wisconsinites climbed aboard the anti- antiquated state law also makes it a crime feelings toward gays and lesbians as gay bandwagon nine years ago and approved for same-sex couples to go out of state to “favorable,” a 9-point increase from 2009 a constitutional amendment restricting get married. and a 26-point increase from 2005. marriage to heterosexual couples. But new A federal lawsuit filed by the American • 42 percent of seniors say they are polling shows the wagon is losing its wheels. Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and the more accepting of LGBT people. About 31 Support for marriage equality in the state is national ACLU seeks to overturn both the percent of Republicans say that as well. now at about 51 percent. amendment and the statute and is on track • 40 percent see gay rights groups The poll was conducted in March by to go to trial in late summer. favorably, which Belanger said signals Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and released by The polling released on April 8 indicates that LGBT groups in the state “are trusted Fair Wisconsin, the state’s largest LGBT civil that state policy and state law is out of step messengers.” rights group. with voter opinion. The poll involved a statewide survey of “Just like the rest of the country, In 2009, a Wisconsin poll showed 27 700 people in Wisconsin who are likely to Wisconsinites support fairness and equality percent of voters supported marriage for vote in 2016. The survey was conducted for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender same-sex couples. March 13–18, with about 42 percent of the community much more than even just a few The Fair Wisconsin/Greenberg poll survey taking place on cellphones. The years ago,” said Katie Belanger, president shows support at 51 percent, and other margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 points. and CEO of Fair Wisconsin. polls in the state in the past year have put Belanger said Fair commissioned the poll Wisconsin was long considered a leader support as high as 56 percent. PHOTO: AP/JOHN HART because “it’s important that we have a very among the states leader on LGBT civil rights Support for marriage equality among Daniel Beechler, of Madison, joins good understanding of where we are in issues. It was the first state in the nation to younger voters is at about 73 percent in supporters celebrating a U.S. Supreme Wisconsin.” ban bias based on sexual orientation and the Fair/Greenberg survey, and support is Court ruling during a parade around the She took heart in the results showing among the earliest to elect openly gay and improving among senior voters. Also, about Wisconsin State Capitol on June 26, 2013. growing support for LGBT people and lesbian candidates to political offices. But 46 percent of Wisconsin’s Catholic voters equality across all backgrounds and the state, in terms of policy and law, has say they support marriage equality. throughout the state. fallen behind many others on equality and The poll also showed: “This is not just a generational issue,” civil rights. • About 60 percent support allowing • 73 percent support expanding rights Belanger said, pointing to the increased For one, Wisconsin lacks legislation same-sex couples to adopt children. for domestic partners in the state. support among older Wisconsinites. banning bias based on gender identity. • 56 percent support legally recognizing • 68 percent support barring Greenberg conducted the 2009 poll for And the state’s GOP leadership continues same-sex marriages performed in other discrimination based on gender identity in Fair Wisconsin. The national firm also has to staunchly defend the 2006 constitutional states and 73 percent oppose the 1915 housing. A similar number — 67 percent — conducted polling for the Human Rights amendment — which voters approved by Marriage Evasion statute. support banning discrimination based on Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT IS HEARING EQUALITY CASES

By Lisa Neff and a woman. Staff writer The cases were filed or amended after Just over a year after the U.S. Supreme last June, when the U.S. Supreme Court Court heard arguments in two landmark overturned the federal marriage ban in the marriage equality cases, the U.S. Court of 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and cleared Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver the way for the dismantling of California’s heard arguments in what could be the anti-gay marriage amendment. next landmark equality case to go to the Since those High Court rulings, nine out High Court. of nine federal judges have overturned The appeals court on April 10 heard anti-gay marriage amendments. Kitchen v. Herbert, the Utah case Now, in addition to the Utah and appealed by the state after a federal judge Oklahoma cases, seven other lawsuits — in December overturned a voter-approved from Nevada, Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, constitutional amendment barring same- Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan — have sex marriage in the heavily Mormon state. reached the federal appeals court level. The same appeals court was scheduled Arguments are scheduled in the Virginia on April 17 to hear oral arguments in case, Bostic v. Schaefer, for May 13. In that another marriage equality case, Bishop v. case, the state attorney general, with Smith, from Oklahoma. support from the governor, has decided “All eyes are on the 10th Circuit as not to defend the anti-gay amendment. unprecedented momentum for marriage Filings in the Kentucky and Tennessee equality continues nationwide,” said cases are due on May 7. Brian Silva, executive director of Marriage Any one of the cases could be appealed Equality USA. to the U.S. Supreme Court, including Wolf These are just two of the more than v. Walker in Wisconsin. In that case, the 60 cases pending in 29 states — plus the ACLU is representing eight Wisconsin U.S. territory of Puerto Rico — challenging couples seeking to have their marriages state anti-gay marriage laws. A total of recognized. 250 plaintiffs seek to overturn marriage Meanwhile the only states not facing bans in their states — including same-sex challenges to anti-gay marriage laws are couples working with the American Civil Alaska, Georgia, Montana, North Dakota Liberties Union of Wisconsin to topple and South Dakota. the 2006 constitutional amendment Same-sex couples can marry in 17 defining marriage as the union of a man states and the District of Columbia. WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 9 10 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 ACLU of Wisconsin asks: Why not in our state? apparent there was no good reason not to sue the State of Wisconsin. News analysis So after carefully, but expeditiously, developing a case, the ACLU filed the chal- CHRIS AHMUTY lenge in federal court in Madison on Feb. 3. We amended our complaint later in the As the executive director of the Ameri- month so that the plaintiffs now include can Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and eight diverse couples. a gay man, I spend a lot of time defending Our strategy is to move rapidly so that or promoting the civil liberties and rights Wisconsin couples will have a voice in the of other people, regardless of their sexual judicial and public debate over the freedom orientation. The freedom to marry is an to marry before the U.S. Supreme Court exception. Thirty-four years ago, when takes up the issue in the next year or two. my partner Bob and I got together, very Lawsuits alone do not usually change soci- few people talked about marriage equality ety, but they have played an integral role in for gay couples. The conversation around many social movements, such as the civil LGBT rights was much more likely to be rights movement. That movement would about police harassment, unpunished hate be unimaginable without cases like Brown crime violence and job discrimination. v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), The ACLU was one of the first national which prohibited racial segregation in pub- organizations to support legal recognition lic education, or Loving v. Virginia (1967), of same-sex relationships, including mar- which struck down prohibitions on inter- riage. Our first marriage case came out of racial marriage. Minnesota in 1972. Unfortunately, if not Our case, Wolf v. Walker, has been surprisingly, the courts were not ready to assigned to federal Judge Barbara Crabb. take our clients’ claims seriously. We have filed a motion for summary judg- The climate today, according to pub- ment, which means there are no relevant lic opinion polls, is very different. Many disputed facts and the law is on our side. people and groups have been working hard Gov. Scott Walker and other state officials for a long time to advance LGBT rights, and are named as defendants and are repre- many social, political and cultural factors sented by the Wisconsin attorney general. have contributed to the change in public These defendants’ attorneys filed a attitudes. The rapidity of the change has motion trying to delay the case, which the been breathtaking when one considers that judge has already rejected. They also have less than 10 years ago Wisconsin and 30 filed a motion to dismiss our complaint, to other states adopted constitutional provi- which we have already responded. Final sions prohibiting same-sex marriages or briefs from lawyers on both sides of our the recognition of such marriages legally summary judgment motion are due to the entered into in other states. court by May 19. Crabb will rule on the Last June the U.S. Supreme Court decid- motions sometime after then. ed U.S. v. Windsor, a federal lawsuit in If one side loses, it will undoubtedly which the ACLU helped Edie Windsor get appeal Crabb’s decision to the federal Sev- back the inheritance taxes she would not enth Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. have had to pay the federal government Or she may deny both motions, in which had it recognized her marriage to her wife case both sides will prepare for a trial Thea. The Supreme Court struck down before Judge Crabb in Madison beginning a section of the discriminatory federal on Aug. 25, and make a decision some time Defense of Marriage Act, and Justice Ken- after the trial. That decision would also be nedy said that DOMA violated Ms. Wind- appealed to the Seventh Circuit. sor’s fundamental constitutional right to Whether our case goes to the U.S. marry. Supreme Court first, or is among multiple We all celebrated the important vic- cases that the court takes up, or whether tory in Windsor, but the celebration was another case reaches the Court before we muted in states like Wisconsin, where can get there isn’t as important as mak- state constitutions or other laws prohib- ing sure that the public, other judges, and ited marriages except between one man the Supreme Courts Justices hear from and one woman. In Wisconsin, the ACLU’s Wisconsin. Wisconsinites deserve to have response to Windsor was to try getting their voices and stories heard on this issue. whatever value we could find that applied There are now more than 60 cases here, such as the right to Social Security challenging restrictions on the freedom benefits for registered domestic partners. to marry. The ACLU is handling nearly However, it soon became clear that legal a dozen. The number of cases suggests developments and community interest that the plaintiffs’ attorneys consider their after Windsor were moving more rapidly cases likely winners. However, this does than anticipated. Wisconsin couples and not mean that the freedom to marry is their allies were asking, “Why not here?” inevitable or will take a predictable path. After federal district judges in Oklahoma We all have much more work to do to con- and Utah struck down prohibitions on the tinue expanding public support for mar- freedom to marry, it became increasingly riage equality. WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 11

ORGANIZATION BRIEFS

• Voces de la Frontera holds a fundraiser and celebrates LGBT support for immigration reform with Voces for FOOD-CENTRIC Equality on April 24 at Wherehouse, 818 S. Water St., DINING OUT FOR LIFE SET Milwaukee. The event celebrates families and unity. Restaurants across the country Also, the nonprofit is organizing its annual May Day are joining in the annual Dining March for 10 a.m. on May 1. Thousands are expected to Out for Life — a celebration of march in Milwaukee to call for an end to deportations and HIV/AIDS activism that adds to for comprehensive immigration reform. nonprofit accounts and satisfies The march will assemble at 1027 S. Fifth St. and travel to appetites. the Milwaukee County Courthouse. For more, email joe@ The event takes place in more vdlf.org. than 60 cities on April 24, with more • The National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame, than 3,000 restaurants registered based in Chicago, is accepting nominations for the class of to participate and Subaru signed on 2014. Nominations are due by April 22 and details can be as the main sponsor. found at gayandlesbiansports.com. In 2013, more than $4.25 million • Milwaukee Holistic Health Expo focuses on wellness was raised in one day of dining. on April 26, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., at West Allis Nathan Hale High For more, go to diningoutforlife. School, 11601 W Lincoln Ave., West Allis. For more, go to com www.mkehealthexpo.com. • FORGE is going forward into spring with several health-related events, including “An Introduction to Transgender Health Care” at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee on April 17. The program begins at 5 p.m. Also, FORGE is promoting “Trans Health Matters,” a wide-ranging discussion on health care, at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, 1110 N. Market St., Milwaukee. The program is at 1 p.m. on April 18. For more, go to forge- forward.org. • The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin is honoring philanthropists Will Radler and Susie and Cary Silverstein and more than 25 social work case managers who work with HIV patients. The awards will be presented during the 28th annual Make A Promise gala on April 26 at the Wisconsin Center. “Our award recipients for 2014 truly embody the Make A Promise tradition,” said ARCW president and CEO Mike Gifford. “These individuals are all leaders who saw a better way forward in improving the lives of people with HIV and acted on it.” For more, go to arcw.org. • The Milwaukee County Human Rights Commission hosts a community forum at the Washington Park Senior Center, 4420 W. Vliet St., 6-7 p.m. on April 22, to hear from residents about issues. The forum features an update from commission chair Jason Rae, as well as welcoming remarks from Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. Respond to Rae at 414-344-1733 or [email protected]. • Diverse and Resilient, Inc., is looking to fill three new positions. Two positions involve implementing evidence- based prevention programs for partner violence and sexual health promotion. An administrative position will entail assisting the agency president and CEO and two directors. Applications are due by May 5. Phone Laura Maker at 414-390-0444 or find more information at http://www. diverseandresilient.org/employment-opportunities. — Lisa Neff and Louis Weisberg

Visit WiG: wisconsingazette.com Updated all day. 12 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 REGIONAL BRIEFS

TRANSGENDER CANDIDATE WINS APPLETON CITY COUNCIL RACE Voters in Appleton on April 1 elected transgender candidate Gypsy Vered Meltzer to their city council. Meltzer, who identifies as male and moved to Appleton in 2000 to attend college, defeated Barney Lemanski in the municipal election. The vote was 295–199. Fair Wisconsin, a statewide LGBT group, said Meltzer made history by becoming the first openly transgender individual to hold elected office in the state. Fair had endorsed Meltzer in the race for the District 2 post. In an appeal for support before the election, Meltzer offered this to voters: “I have been going to city council meetings PHOTO: COURTESY and learning everything I can about how the Assembly Assistant Minority Leader Sandy Pasch, D-Shorewood, announced she will city operates. Serving on city council has not seek re-election in the 10th Assembly District. been a dream of mine for many years, and I couldn’t do it without your support and IN OTHER REGIONAL NEWS … use as many addicts shift from more encouragement. I am excited, prepared and • Assembly Assistant Minority Leader costly and harder-to-get prescription opi- confident. I will follow through on all my Sandy Pasch, D-Shorewood, announced ates to the cheaper alternative. In early promises with a commitment to openness she would not seek re-election in the April, Gov. Scott Walker signed a series and transparency. I have no higher political 10th Assembly District. “After extensive of bills aimed at trying to deal with the aspirations beyond serving Appleton. Non- discussions with close confidants and situation. The measures include allow- partisan local government is the arena in my family, as well as extensive thought ing more EMTs to administer Narcan, which we can truly improve our quality of and reflection on my part, I have made providing legal immunity for anyone who life and meet the needs of our community!” the decision to not run for re-election reports an overdose, creating regional On a Facebook page for the District 2 in the 10th Assembly District in 2014,” opiate treatment centers, allowing munic- alderperson after the election, Meltzer said Pasch said. “This decision did not come ipal prescription drug collection drives, his mission is “the same as the city of lightly, as having the honor and privilege requiring identification to obtain opiate Appleton, to meet your needs and improve to serve the greater Milwaukee area since prescriptions and creating quicker sanc- the quality of your life.” 2009 has been one of the most humbling tions for parole or probation violators. and meaningful experiences of my life. • Suburban Cook County will join Chicago However, due to personal matters and in banning the sale of dogs, cats and rab- family health circumstances, I believe it bits from large-scale professional breed- is in the best interest of my district, my ers, adding to a nationwide movement caucus, and me personally to not run for aimed at cutting off demand from ani- re-election this year.” mals bred in so-called puppy mills. The • Democratic gubernatorial candidate suburban ban, approved without opposi- Mary Burke has picked up endorsements tion by the county board, will go into from the Wisconsin Education Associa- effect in October, five months before a tion Council, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO and similar ordinance takes effect in the city. Madison Teachers Inc. The AFL-CIO, in • U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., was one its statement, said Gov. Scott Walker of 59 members of Congress to be named has attacked workers’ wages and collec- a “Humane Advocate” by the Humane tive bargaining rights, dismantled voting Society of the United States for his “per- rights and “enacted hyper-partisan redis- fect score” on animal welfare legislation. tricting lines” while failing to create “good He was the only lawmaker recognized jobs for hard-working Wisconsinites.” from Wisconsin. • Wisconsin is reporting a rise in heroin — Lisa Neff WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 13 14 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 Activists howl for justice Lisa Neff neck/body,” said Elizabeth Regardless of the beyond the practice of Staff writer Huntley, a wolf advocate who terminology, after decades protecting livestock and “Heh, heh, heh.” The two serves as a spokeswoman of working to bring the private property. men on the HowToHunt for Wisconsin Wolf Front. wolf population back from “In Wisconsin, wolves video on YouTube sound “You can imagine where this near extinction, advocates were on a trajectory for like Beavis and Butthead leads to. This is a horrible are facing a new situation: recovery and protection,” when they come across the and agonizing way for an The clearly stated goal said Noah Greenwald, dead wolf hanging from a animal to die, and it usually of the Republican-led endangered species director log after being caught in a does not happen quickly.” Legislature and the for the Center for Biological snare they’d placed the day In Wisconsin, the state- Wisconsin Department Diversity. “And then, the before. prescribed method of killing of Natural Resources, state decided to drastically “Happy days,” said one a trapped wolf is by firearm with endorsements from reduce the population. of the men as he hoisted up — aimed at the head, with 18 county boards, is to Of the three states — the animal and grinned for a bullet to the brain, or dramatically reduce the wolf Wisconsin, Minnesota, the camera. The wolf was the chest, with a bullet to population — to about 350 Michigan — Wisconsin bloody and stiff with rigor penetrate the heart or lungs. wolves in time. has the most regressive mortis, but the fur looked Wisconsinites hunted, policies toward wolves. The soft. trapped and killed 257 TO PROTECT management plan calls for “Heh, heh, heh,” his friend wolves during the 2013 OR TO KILL reducing the population chortled. season that went from In the winter of 1979, there by more than half. It just The trappers called the Oct. 15 to Dec. 23, and at were just 25 wolves counted doesn’t make sense.” wolf’s death a “suicide.” least 117 during the 2012 in Wisconsin. Species In 2013, for the fourth They had strategically season, when the state lost protection efforts increased time since 1985, there was placed the snare on a log an additional 76 wolves that population at a rate no increase detected in the stretched over a hole so the in depredation control, 24 of 20 percent in the 1990s wolf population from the PHOTO: USFWS wolf would fall after getting in vehicle collisions, 21 in and 10–12 percent in the previous year, according to The federal government may “delist” the wolf and remove caught in the noose. illegal kills and five from 2000s. Then, to the surprise a DNR news release. protections under the Endangered Species Act. Death by hanging. unknown causes. of many, came a federal When the 2013 hunting “Once an animal gets its Some would say that delisting for the Great season began, the DNR But Greenwald said, costs about $50. There’s head/body into the wire Wisconsin in 2012 legalized Lakes’ wolves and a rush said there were 809 to “Hunting is a poor also the cost of the blaze- loop, with every movement the sport of hunting wolves; by politicians in Wisconsin, 834 wolves in the state, management tool for a orange vest, the bait, the the animal makes, the noose others say the state Minnesota and Michigan to including 215 packs and species like the wolf,” trap, the firearm — which tightens around the animal’s sanctioned slaughter. allow hunting the animals 15 lone wolves. This was a because the species can be a rifle, a shotgun, a “late-winter count,” and the manages itself and is pistol or a muzzleloader — DNR said the population essential for healthy and the truck detailing after presumably would double ecosystems. “The removal the kill. in the spring, after pups of top predators is a For those new to the were born, and then decline global problem and it has so-called “sport,” the DNR through the year. surprising consequences for offers a course in best The quota of kills the DNR ecosystems,” he said. “In management practices for allowed this past season the Midwest, for example, trapping, trapper ethics and “could reduce the population there have been widespread responsibilities, trap-setting by approximately 13 declines in ground- demonstrations, trapping percent, taking all mortality nesting birds of all kinds. rules and “respect for factors into account,” stated The removal of top-level people and the animal.” DNR carnivore specialist predators (such as wolves) Yet opponents of wolf Dave MacFarland, adding has allowed mid-level hunting ask: How one can that the agency tries “to predators to increase their respectfully slaughter a wild balance many of the social numbers and their species animal? Consider how a leg- interests in wolves with the prey on ground-nesting hold or foot-hold trap works: need, and the department’s birds.” The trap is placed. It catches responsibility, to manage In Wisconsin, a license to the state’s wolf population.” “remove” or “harvest” a wolf WOLF next page WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 15

wolf-hunting. (Examples has proposed removing WOLF from prior page are on the “Wisconsin Wolf protections everywhere but the animal — sometimes Hunters” Facebook page.) Arizona and New Mexico, the wild animal, sometimes • Organizing campaigns where just 83 Mexican the domestic stray — by against anti-wolf politicians, wolves remain in the wild. snapping down hard on the including state Sen. Neal During the comment bone. Wisconsin trappers Kedzie, who has locked up period that followed the are supposed to check traps in committee a bill to stop proposal, a million people every 24 hours — by then, using dogs in wolf hunting. opposed the proposal the animal most likely has Wisconsin is the only state — the highest number of tried to struggle to get free, that permits the practice. submissions ever sent attempting to chew the “Word is getting out to FWS concerning an caught limb. An animal in about what’s happening to endangered species. a trap that goes unchecked not only the wolves of this More recently, another may die of dehydration, state, but to many other 460,000 Americans filed starvation or become easy species of wildlife being comments opposing the prey. trophy-hunted, trapped and “delisting,” and in February “The stress a trapped penned for the purposes of an independent scientific animal endures is nothing hound-hunting,” Huntley peer review unanimously short of terrifying,” said said. “This state is becom- concluded that a federal Huntley, who described the ing deplorable concerning plan to drop protections for wolf advocacy movement as the preservation of its wild- most gray wolves was not “a gathering storm.” life and wild lands.” based on the best available She became involved One activist Huntley science. soon after the delisting works with is Adam “Policy decisions about of wolves in Wisconsin. Kassulke, also of Wisconsin wolves and other wildlife “Within a week or two of Wolf Front. As WiG went should be based on the wolves being delisted from to press, Kassulke was best science, not politics,” the Endangered Species asking the Wisconsin said Leda Huta, executive list in Wisconsin, Gov. Conservation Congress to director of the Endangered Walker signed legislation support a moratorium on Species Coalition. mandating the hunting wolf-hunting until more She said there were once of wolves in the state — scientific research could be up to 2 million gray wolves and part of this legislation conducted on the issue. in North America, but they includes the use of dogs in He said this month were slaughtered to near- wolf hunts,” Huntley said. also would bring a citizen extinction by the early lobbying effort in the Capitol 1900s. Recovery programs AGRESSIVE CAMPAIGN and the announcement of helped wolf populations in Activists seeking to a new Great Lakes Wolves some parts of the country protect wolves and halt the Coalition, part of a push rebound. Still, there only hunts come from varied to unite the somewhat about 5,500 wolves in the backgrounds and interests fractured wolf advocacy continental United States — animal welfare advocates, community. and wolves occupy just 5 environmentalists and good Wisconsin Wolf Front percent of their historic government advocates. formed last May, with a range in the lower 48. They’re conducting a broad, focus on political action and If the federal delisting aggressive campaign that educating young people. takes place, hunts like those involves: About 82 percent of the taking place in the Great • Circulating petitions to members are students. Lakes region and the Rocky build public awareness. With the launch of the Mountain states could take • Challenging policy at coalition, Kassulke wants place elsewhere. government hearings. wolf advocates to hire “After the federal • Delving into state data a lobbyist and to play a government prematurely and records to analyze role in defeating anti-wolf gave up its duty to protect the science and status of legislators on Election Day. wolves, the states of Idaho, endangered species. Michigan, Minnesota, • Protesting a proposal POLITICS OVER Montana, Wisconsin and allowing hunters to pursue SCIENCE Wyoming all rushed to prey on private property. In addition to the three hold hunting and trapping • Monitoring grisly Great Lakes states, wolf seasons,” said Nicole Internet posts by hunters hunts have taken place in Paquette, vice president of and trappers, including Wyoming, Montana and wildlife protection for the accounts of wolves being Idaho, where the governor Humane Society of the tortured and dogs dying in recently signed a bill, United States. “Thousands training exercises. despite opposition from of wolves have been • Filing freedom of conservation groups, to barbarically killed over bait, information requests create a $400,000 fund with hounds and cable neck and trying to analyze and establish a five-member snares. The (FWS) proposal correspondence dealing board to oversee the killing puts politics over its with the wolf advisory. of wolves. (conservation) obligations “ • Following the money At the same time, the from outdoors groups, Obama administration is Editor’s note: This is the gun organizations and considering “delisting” the first in an ongoing series individuals to politicians. wolf at the federal level in on wolves and the dispute • Mapping the ties of the lower 48 states. The over endangered species right-wing extremists with Fish and Wildlife Services protections for the animals. 16 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 WiG’s WEB PICKS { Editorial } Some of our favorite recent pictorials from cyberspace Mozilla CEO a victim of evolution

After less than a month on the job, that people should be judged in the Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich resigned when workplace solely for their effectiveness an outcry erupted over his 2008 contri- at their jobs — not for their personal bution of $1,000 to California’s anti-gay lives. Calling on Eich to resign would Proposition 8 campaign. The incident seem the antithesis of that posture. was a touchstone moment that divid- If only the issue were that simple. ed equality supporters and prompted One point that Sullivan and others homophobes to claim that straight, white missed is that Eich resigned voluntarily. traditional marriage advocates are “the He was not fired for his opposition to real bullying victims.” allowing gays to marry. Rather, as he Mozilla, like most of California’s high- acknowledged, the situation at Mozilla tech companies, has stood at the fore- had become uncomfortable for everyone front of the equality movement. Eich, involved and was damaging Mozilla’s who developed JavaScript, has fit into reputation. It was that recognition, not the industry — apparently without inci- the thought police, that prompted his dent — since 1985. He seems to have departure. successfully kept any animus he feels Another overlooked point is that toward LGBT people out of the work- people routinely draw condemnation for place. prejudice. If Eich had made a contribu- Three of Mozilla Foundation’s five tion to the KKK, the majority of Ameri- directors resigned and employees of the cans would have boycotted the company. company threatened to quit after Eich’s Sullivan and others seem to have more anti-equality action was revealed. There patience for people who oppose LGBT were scattered calls for a boycott. rights. LGBT leaders gave Eich the chance Just because the recognition of LGBT to recant the contribution he made six equality is new historically is no reason years ago amid a different social climate. to give people who oppose it any more In 2008, even President Barack Obama leeway than other kinds of bigots. In a and former Secretary of State Hillary diverse democratic society, condemning Clinton had yet to “evolve” on the issue. people for discrimination is not nearly But rather than denounce his prior as grievous as promoting discrimination. actions, Eich chose to step down, saying While we agree it would have been that his donation had become a distrac- wrong to fire Eich for his beliefs, we also tion that rendered him ineffective to lead. support his critics’ right to express their Gay blogger Andrew Sullivan and other views. They should not be dismissed as high-profile LGBT people condemned an example of political correctness gone their community for imposing a litmus awry. Through the democratic process, test on Eich. They said, in effect, that it Eich made a public donation to a cause was an example of political correctness that was less divisive at the time. run amok — that the LGBT community The cause is now more divisive, and had embraced the thought-policing tac- the public increasingly rejects people tics of its enemies. who still embrace it. Eich is a victim of an For decades, LGBT advocates argued evolving nation.

CEO/PRINCIPAL SALES INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION Leonard Sobczak [email protected] Robert Wright or call 414-961-3240 [email protected] PUBLISHER/ EDITOR IN CHIEF SALES EXECUTIVES Mark Richards Louis Weisberg Samantha Luper [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] The Wisconsin Gazette is published every other week OFFICE ASSISTANT and distributed throughout the Milwaukee area, Madison, NATIONAL EDITOR Mark Richards (Madison) Anita Gielow Racine, Kenosha, and 40 other cities statewide. Lisa Neff, [email protected] [email protected] To have WiG delivered to your address, contact CONTRIBUTORS [email protected] or call 414-961-3240, ext. 101 GRAPHIC DESIGNERS MARKETING COORDINATOR Jamakaya, Bill Lamb, Mike Muckian, Eric Van Egeren, Maureen M. Kane Kait Weisensel Matthew Reddin, Anne Siegel, WiG Publishing, LLC. © 2014 [email protected] Gregg Shapiro COPY EDITOR Please recirculate and recycle this publication. Stephen DeLeers WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 17 ON THE RECORD Avoiding ‘the equality of extinction’ April 22, a civil rights leader Silent Spring last year and thing is right when it tends “They shagged tail, got in them says: “If we do not save the was blown away by her pas- to preserve the integrity, cars and was leaving in a hurry. Opinion environment, then whatev- sion and integrity. You’ve stability and beauty of Oh yeah, they was gone!” er we do in civil rights will got to love a woman who is the biotic community. It is — DAN ECCLES, a resident of JAMAKAYA be of no meaning. Because still the subject of million- wrong when it tends other- Moore, Okla., telling reporters how then we will have the equal- dollar slander campaigns by wise.” a local mob chased away Westboro Baptist Church I try to read about and ity of extinction.” chemical polluters 50 years “The fallacy the econom- members who’d gone there to protest the funerals of take action on the environ- Not everyone can be after her death! ic determinists have tied tornado victims. WBC members said God sent the ment when Earth Day rolls activists 24/7, but we can all Vandana Shiva, an Indian around our collective neck,” violent weather to the Bible Belt region to punish the around, and I hope you do take small steps to increase scientist, is our modern day he wrote, “is the belief that rest of America for tolerating homosexuality. too. It’s the least we can do. environmental conscious- Rachel Carson. She bravely economics determines all Given the array of threats ness — our own, our neigh- sticks her neck out denounc- land use.” Leopold argued “The teen storms out by choice and leaves volun- to our planet as a whole and bors’ and that of policymak- ing corporate globalization instead for “the existence tarily because the homosexual relationship is more to our state, we ought to ers. for its role in destroying bio- of obligations above self- important than that of his or her parents. And when be active year-round. With Read the founding texts of diversity and local econo- interest.” that all-important relationship ends, the teen is too global warming, oil spills, the conservation and envi- mies (through the imposi- Leopold’s plea for “obli- stubborn or already too involved in alcohol or drugs chemical contamination and ronmental movements by tion of patented, genetically gations above self-interest” or the premature independence of the homosexual the ravages of open pit min- Henry David Thoreau, John modified seeds). She writes reminded me of Abe Lin- life and he or she would rather drift than return ing regularly making head- Muir, Rachel Carson and eloquently about the con- coln’s takedown of slavery home. I’ve heard (it) far too often.” lines, you’d think a lot more Wisconsin’s Aldo Leopold. cepts of ecofeminism and proponents for claiming — Fundamentalist Christian radio host LINDA people would be up in arms. Then check out contem- “Earth democracy.” there was “no right principle HARVEY explaining to her listeners why homeless Yet national polls show the porary books by Al Gore, This year I read A Sand of action but self-interest” LGBT teens have only themselves to blame for their public rates environmen- Bill McKibben and Vandana County Almanac by Aldo Leo- — meaning profit and prop- situation. tal issues as a concern far Shiva. Some are based on pold, first published in 1949. erty rights. We need leaders below jobs, the economy, personal observations of It’s a delightful account of with such moral conviction “This exciting new design is a giant step forward health care, taxes, educa- nature, others on scientific the activities of bird, insect, today to assert the wider for the Milwaukee Art Museum and Milwaukee tion, immigration and more. data. All brim with moral animal and plant life on the public interest and that of County. Featuring an enhanced lakefront entrance, I understand people’s purpose. sandy terrain of Leopold’s the Earth. and an increase in space for its extensive and invalu- focus on bread-and-butter Not a big reader? Then farm in Sauk County. The able art collection, this treasure on our lakefront issues and personal survival. spend a few minutes check- edition I have includes his will continue to shine as one of our many treasures But there’s a much bigger ing them out on Wikipedia. essay “The Land Ethic,” and cultural assets. This expansion could not have survival issue at stake. Share what you’ve learned whose principles form the moved forward without the historic compromise In one of the most chilling with others. bedrock of conservation. between the Milwaukee Art Museum and the War segments in A Fierce Green I read a biography of Car- In its most famous pas- Next time: How to take Memorial Center. I’m proud that the Milwaukee Fire, to be aired by PBS on son along with her classic sage, Leopold wrote: “A action on current Earth issues. County Board brought in Justice Janine Geske and unanimously approved this important accord. We had a vision, worked together, made a commit- ment, and the results will benefit generations to Praise greets Shorewood School District come. This is how we continue to build a world class county.” mann-Ortiz made her own Shorewood School Dis- He hopes to provide enough — Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman MARI- calls to school board mem- trict’s superintendant, Dr. “support to teachers so that NA DIMITRIJEVIC praising the parties involved Opinion bers to ensure they heard Martin Lexmond, called they feel comfortable and in paving the way to expand the Milwaukee Art from those who supported the policy a “no-brainer.” confident around trans- Museum. FORGE the policy, as well. “Honestly,” he said, “I related issues by next fall.” Around 15 people showed don’t understand what the Although additional “I think a lot of us wish he had become a painter A small cadre of activ- up at that night’s meeting, big deal is. A parent came school districts are report- as opposed to a president. We all could have been ists scrambled to attend the many times the usual num- to us wanting to know in edly working on transgender saved a lot of trouble.” Shorewood School District ber of audience members. what ways we could include policies, only six Wisconsin — New York Times art critic DEBORAH SOLO- Board’s March 11 meeting, No one spoke against the transgender students in our districts have enacted such MON offering her expert opinion about the paint- worried that they would new policy. In fact, one per- existing nondiscrimination policies. Michelle Donofrio, ings of ex-President George W. Bush, which recently have to counter a right-wing son who rose to complain policies.” The school board a parent in the Stoughton went on display at the George W. Bush Presidential backlash against school about different matters took looked into the matter and School District, worked Library and Museum in Dallas. board members’ passage time to first praise the mem- decided a new policy was with GSAFE (Gay Straight of a policy recognizing and bers for their willingness to necessary. Alliance for Safe Schools) “Diversity is our greatest strength and a vibrant, protecting transgender stu- become the first school dis- Lexmond confirmed the for more than a year and a welcoming community attracts the kind of indus- dents. trict in Milwaukee County to reaction “has been over- half to pass the policy that tries and talent our cities need. That’s why we were The mobilization was set adopt a policy about trans- whelmingly positive and district adopted in Janu- one of the first cities in Florida to adopt a domestic in motion by Christine Neu- gender students. Others, supportive. We received ary. Although Stoughton, partner registry, and now we have more than 1,200 mann-Ortiz, executive direc- including a former student, a number of emails that like Shorewood, has yet to couples registered. I hope that one day we are the tor of Voces de la Frontera, a her mother and another par- said we are keeping along implement its policy chang- city that hosts the state’s first same-sex wedding. Milwaukee-based immigra- ent stood for the sole reason the lines of the progres- es, Donofrio hopes their Love and commitment should be encouraged, and it tion rights organization. She of thanking the board mem- sive culture and beliefs of nondiscrimination models should be celebrated and it should be embraced as had been monitoring a con- bers. A Shorewood teacher Shorewood, and that how will make life easier and a constitutional right for all.” servative radio station when told the board that students the school board voted was simpler for transgender stu- — Orlando Mayor BUDDY DYER endorsing mar- she heard them give out the were already talking posi- consistent with its com- dents in the future. riage equality for the first time at phone numbers for all of the tively about the new policy, munity.” He said the next his State Of The City address. Shorewood school board which treats transgender step is addressing questions members and urge listeners students in all ways as their and concerns teachers have FORGE is a Milwaukee- to show up at that night’s identified gender as soon about updating student based advocacy and educa- school board meeting to as a parent submits a letter records and addressing stu- tion group for transgender protest the new policy. After explaining the student has dents by gender appropri- people. Go to forge-forward. alerting other activists, Neu- identified as transgender. ate names and pronouns. org. 18 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 19

WiGOUT!WISCONSIN GAZETTE ENTERTAINMENT Michael Pink’s original ballet ‘Mirror, Mirror’ probes the underlying themes of Snow White

By Michael Muckian more sophisticated and slightly twisted creatures escape the glass and work their “I want the adults to be challenged, and Contributing writer telling of the story. malevolence directly on the characters. I want the children to see this story come A wicked stepmother, a poisoned apple, In Pink’s narrative, the audience learns Claudia’s vanity makes her particularly to life,” Pink says. “They will interpret the a demon-filled magic mirror and haute about Snow White’s parents and the idyl- susceptible to their influence, Pink says. story through their own eyes, and it will be couture. What more could you ask for in lic community in which they lived. A fall- “The demons represent an alter ego something gorgeous to look at.” the balletic retelling of a classic folk tale? ing star captured by Snow White’s mother and move Claudia to action,” says Pink. The Milwaukee Ballet’s world premiere Beatrice becomes a magic mirror. The “They are a driving force in the narrative.” of Michael Pink’s production Mirror, Mirror couple and their community live in an In the end the mirror cracks, allowing recounts the Snow White legend with an apple orchard amid peace and harmony. the handsome prince Gustav, danced by imagined backstory, beautiful costumes But then things change when Beatrice Alexandre Ferreira, to save the day. Good and innovative sets. dies, leaving Snow White under the grow- ultimately triumphs over evil. But the Seven Dwarves are deliberately ing influence of her evil stepmother Clau- Despite the serious themes underlying absent from the production. dia. The magic mirror, which Claudia cov- Mirror, Mirror, Pink believes that children “I wanted to get away from Disney ets, is filled with marauding demons that will relate to the production by viewing and did not want this to be the standard prey on human weaknesses, most notably it through the lens of the Snow White Snow White story,” says Pink, whose bal- Claudia’s vanity. The apple, of course, legend. let premieres on May 15 in the Marcus becomes a symbol of menace. Center for the Performing Arts’ Uihlein It’s the power that folk tales and their Hall. “It’s the struggle between dark and role as morality plays have over our lives light, between good and evil, and between that initially drew Pink, the ballet’s artistic two beautiful women. I know that because director, to the story. all my dancers are beautiful.” “Folk tales are the bedrock of many Pink developed his first draft of the bal- modern children’s stories, and this one is let in 1999, and continued revising it over a psychological drama as well,” Pink says. the years. His original backstory to the “This is about people in compromised folk tale, which is distinctly different from positions who eventually triumph in the the fairy tale or film version, is a darker, end.” Mirror, Mirror marks the third collabora- MICHAEL PINK’S ‘PETER PAN’ tion between Pink and composer Philip TO BE BROADCAST ON PBS Feeney. They also worked together on Ballet fans throughout the United Dracula and Peter Pan. But the most recent States will get the chance to learn collaboration takes the two artists in a what Milwaukee Ballet fans have new direction, Pink says. known all along when Michael Pink’s “This is the first time we’ve entered ballet Peter Pan takes to the airwaves a surreal world rather than strived for April 18 in a nationally televised PBS an authentic setting,” Pink explains. “The broadcast. sounds Philip is creating don’t have to be Filmed in 2010 by Milwaukee Pub- specific to a certain time or place. (That’s) lic Television, Peter Pan is one of given him more freedom and more of a the earlier collaborations between challenge.” Pink and composer Philip Feeney. All Todd Edward Ivins dresses Claudia, the tricks and trappings familiar to danced by Susan Gartell, in black. Details Milwaukee Ballet fans, including the of her costuming evoke raven-like imag- ery. Feeney’s musical interpretation of the mid-air dual between Pan and Cap- PHOTO: JESSICA KAMINSKI tain Hook and a pirate ship that sails character builds on that by incorporating Susan Gartell and Nicole across the stage, are highlighted in “crow calls” and swirling motifs suggest- Teague in Mirror, Mirror. the production. ing flight, Pink says. The performance features Mil- Snow White, performed by Nicole waukee Ballet leading artist Marc Teague, is dressed in virginal white. Her ON STAGE Petrocci as Pan and rising star Valerie costuming and musical themes liken her The Milwaukee Ballet’s production Harmon as Wendy. The broadcast to a dove. David Grill’s lighting design of Michael Pink’s Mirror, Mirror runs begins at 8 p.m. on April 18 on PBS enhances the contrast between the char- for four performances May 15-18 at stations throughout Wisconsin and acters as light and dark, good versus evil. the Marcus Center for the Performing the nation. Some of the most compelling charac- Arts’ Uihlein Hall. For more informa- ters in the production are the demons who tion, visit www.milwaukeeballet.org. inhabit the mirror. Four identical faceless 20 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014

panies, their performance seems almost documentary in style, and I found myself looking at their faces rather than their feet. They seemed almost vaudevillian.” Ira Glass plus two dancers The other similarity, Glass said, was that the dancers appeared out to have fun. “I thought that if the people who liked my equals novel entertainment show knew this existed, they would really dig it,” Glass said. In May 2012, the unlikely trio collabo- rated on three short dances that were part of a This American Life variety show beamed into movie theaters nationwide. The suc- cess of that performance led to a full show combining stories and dance. “The first show included a number of my regulars, like David Sedaris and David Rakoff, and I interviewed the dancers at the end of the performance,” Glass said. “It went over very well, but Monica and Anna both said they thought the audience wanted to see more of me.” One Radio Host, Two Dancers takes to the road once or twice a month. It arrives in Philadelphia on April 20 to begin a nation- wide tour delivering its unlikely combination of scripted and slightly impromptu talk and dance. Glass hopes for a longer-running stay at one of New York’s smaller Broadway theaters at some future date. “It’s a weirdly personal show,” Glass said. “We talk about experiences and feelings, and I talk about my parents, for example, in ways I wouldn’t do on my radio show.” Despite the temptation, impromptu moments are kept to a minimum. The per- formance is well-scripted with what Glass said are “a hundred lighting cues and cos- PHOTO: COURTESY tume changes.” Ira Glass with dancers Monia Bill Barnes “It’s highly structured, and I love that part and Anna Bass during a recent show. of it,” he added. “It’s a real show-show.” The performance, which includes live and By Michael Muckian taped commentary, is more or less divided Contributing writer into three acts. PBS radio personality Ira Glass said he “In the first part of the show, we do sto- never thought a stage show combining radio ries about dancers, because it’s the first and modern dance would work. Despite thing we tried,” he said. “We have a section success to the contrary, he still questions on love and then one on death, or at least the concept. losing what you love. Those are the three Milwaukee audiences can decide for acts.” themselves when Glass, host of This Ameri- Two years into the concept, Glass still can Life, brings Three Acts, Two Dancers, marvels that the cross-genre mashup has One Radio Host to the Riverside Theater on generated such a positive response. The April 26. Glass will join dancers Monica Bill dancers also get to talk, and a review of the Barnes and Anna Bass, both members of trio’s 2013 Ann Arbor, Mich., performance Barnes’ terpsichorean troupe, for 90 min- indicates that Glass indulges in a little step- utes of stories, audio clips, revealing per- ping now and then — “for the humor of it sonal anecdotes and what’s been hailed as all,” quipped reviewer Susan Isaacs Nisbett. some pretty impressive stepping. “You can see who’s trained here, and “There was no good reason to make this who’s not,” she added. show at all,” said Glass, who was battling The radio host was mum on what his the flu during a recent telephone interview. feet would be doing during the Milwaukee “Nobody, me included, had any desire for a performance. show combining radio and modern dance.” “We’re not talking about that,” he insist- Fans of the Peabody Award-winning This ed. American Life, which originated at Chicago’s WBEZ and is now beamed to more than 500 PBS stations in the United States, Canada ON STAGE and Australia, enjoy the program’s candid, Radio host Ira Glass brings Three often confessional quality. Glass said he Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host to found that same quality in a performance he Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater, 144 E. attended of Monica Bill Barnes Co. Wells St., on April 26. For tickets and Thus the idea of a joint act was hatched. more information, call 414- 286-3205 “The aesthetics of their performance or visit www.pabsttheater.org. had two qualities that reminded me of my show,” Glass said. “Unlike most dance com- WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 21 Michelle Visage does drag, Yiddish and motherhood By Gregg Shapiro Michelle Visage Contributing writer Fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race know Michelle Visage as the mama hen at the judges’ table. She dispenses wisdom like a buxom, dolled-up Pez dispenser — and you’d bet- ter listen, because this woman knows what she’s talking about. Her career began as one-third of the 1980s girl group Seduction (“Two to Make It Right”), which became her entré into world of drag balls and club culture. A dear friend of RuPaul, Visage took her rightful place at the Drag Race judge’s table during the program’s third season. I spoke with Visage in April 2014 about her career, her affiliation with RuPaul and her role as the host of RuPaul’s Drag Race tour. Gregg Shapiro: You and RuPaul go way back. What’s the secret to your friendship? Michelle Visage: Honesty. So many peo- ple keep so many things from each other. And not just honesty, but love and accep- On stage tance. I have kids and I see what they go RuPaul’s Drag Race tour appears at Mil- through. They say they’re best friends and waukee’s Pabst Theater on April 29. For they’re so fickle. The next day they’re best more, go to 414-286-3663 or visit pabst- friends with somebody else. Truly loving theater.org. somebody (means) knowing all their faults, but loving them completely and wholly. Milwaukee. My in-laws live in Lake Geneva.

Who’s been your favorite judge so far? The Milwaukee suburb of Whitefish Bay Honestly, I don’t have one. There have so is referred to as Gefilte Fish Bay. many great ones. Let me tell you why they’re (Big laugh) I absolutely love it! My whole so great: They love the show! They literally family’s from Brooklyn, so you get caught up ask to be on the show. in all the Yiddish. Ru literally has a book that he uses called Yiddish For Dummies. He’s Beyonce is often referenced on the show. obsessed with all things Jewish and Yiddish, What would it mean to you to have Queen so he’ll try to work a Yiddish phrase in here Bee sitting beside you at the judges’ table? and there. I’ll drop schmatte and mishpucha Being in radio for a thousand years, like and things like that. I was, I’ve gotten to interview Beyonce like four or five times. She’s a Virgo, like me, Just as there is an art to doing drag, so we have the same energy. I absolutely there is also an art to giving construc- get her, love her, adore her. She has never tive criticism. What’s your process when it been anything but humble and amazing. comes to offering criticism? There’s something about Beyonce that I just let it rip. I can see when some- these queens literally live for. What I love body’s sensitive or somebody’s ready to about her is she’s loaded beyond belief, but break down, so I know when to go all the she’s remained this real girl from Texas who way or when to hold back. I want everybody loves being a mom, loves being a wife. to know when I say what I say, why I’m say- ing it. We don’t get the whole explanation all What do you enjoy most about being out the time on TV, but I guarantee when I say on the road for RuPaul’s Drag Race tour? it to them, they understand why I’m saying I love the queens and spending time with what I’m saying. them. I get to know them personally, on a different level. Ivy Winters is one I got to What was the most useful criticism you know better on the tour. It’s (also) about ever received? seeing the fans and seeing how much they When I was maybe 18 or 19 years old, love our show and seeing how RuPaul has from my friend Max, who was one of the touched these children in their lives and gays that I used to hang out with down on how it allows them to be free. Also getting the piers in New York City. I was really in to meet a lot of the parents who love and the gay scene for the past two or three years accept their children for who they are. It’s and I was really acting like a flamboyant very moving for me. That’s what I like the gay man. I was no longer a straight woman. most. He sat me down and said, “Girl, I love you. You’re my daughter. But please, I beg of you, You recently said the Yiddish word I need you to stop acting like a (gay person). schmatta on an episode. You have your own identity and it needs to I was adopted into a Jewish family. Oddly flourish because you are so talented. You enough I don’t hear a lot of Jewish names in need to move on, upward and forward. Fly.” 22 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 MAM’s ‘Uncommon Folk’ showcases vast holding of folk art and works by self-taught artists PHOTO: MAM By Matthew Reddin sage is that the former, facilitated by com- Young Girl With A Cat, oil on canvas Contributing writer munities instead of curators and galleries, by Drossos P. Skyllas (ca. 1955). You don’t have to wander far into the has an equal position in art history with the Milwaukee Art Museum to realize it’s not latter. merely a world-class architectural gem, but Andera bypassed the common prac- it also houses a spectacular trove of art of tice of arranging pieces in chronological all genres. order. “What that does is point out what’s What’s less immediately visible, however, changed,” she says. “I was interested in is the surprisingly vast amount of folk, out- what hasn’t changed.” sider and self-taught art held by MAM — in So she positioned artwork without con- PHOTO: MAM fact, it’s one of the largest such collections cern for its dates of origin, drawing atten- Common Mergansers (Drake & Hen), owned by a museum that doesn’t specialize tion to similarities and emphasizing that carved and painted wood, lead weight, in such categories. many forms of folk art don’t belong to a nails, metal loop (ca. 1900). Since Jan. 31, the museum has spotlighted specific era but rather to longstanding tradi- this vast collection of folk, outsider and tions that continue to this day. self-taught art with the feature exhibition Walking through Uncommon Folk, a visitor Uncommon Folk: Traditions in American Art. is likely to be amazed by the sheer number Hundreds of such pieces have been brought of works that MAM can artfully present. together for the first time in a fascinating Nearly 600 items are on display, including display. more than a dozen duck and fish decoys. Touring the exhibit is a once-in-a-lifetime The massive collection began with two opportunity that ends on May 4. landscape paintings by Wisconsin artist The exhibition is so rich and varied that Anna Louisa Miller. They’re on display in it’s impossible to describe it without leav- Uncommon Folk without any fanfare and in ing out something. The artwork is arranged the middle of the exhibition. either by form (portraits, quilts, carvings, Andera says the paintings were a gift toys) or function (historically focused donated in 1951, a time when collecting self- works, religious works, trade signs). MAM taught art wasn’t even considered by most PHOTO: JOHN NIENHUIS curator Margaret Andera says the museum institutions. There isn’t any obvious reason The Newsboy, carved, assembled wanted to present non-academic traditions why MAM would have accepted the works. and painted wood with folded tin of art side by side with more established For one thing, Andera says, “When people (1888). disciplines. The viewers’ take-away mes- offer things to museums, they don’t always

say yes.” But for some reason, perhaps the known for his eye-catching, vividly colored quality of the paintings or simply Miller’s surrealist paintings that reflect contempo- Wisconsin ties, the museum took them. rary trends in abstraction. Those two paintings were the seeds of a The third artist, James Castle, created art self-taught collection that slowly grew, first that until now had not been exhibited. The with a surge of acquisitions in the 1960s. bulk of his creations are ephemeral works After that, acquisitions of such works abat- made of soot on paper. The fact they’re so ed until 1989, when the museum received delicate that a breeze could destroy them the Michael and Julie Hall Collection — a makes them all the more captivating. monumental gift that sparked many subse- As Uncommon Folk winds down, Andera quent donations. Those include the Antho- says she’s increasingly finding a sense of ny Petullo Collection, which was the subject pride in the collection through patrons’ of the museum’s Accidental Genius exhibi- feedback. That’s the response she’d hoped tion in 2012. The recently received Lanford for while assembling the exhibition. It’s rare Wilson collection is likely to be the subject for museums to build exhibitions around of its own show within the next few years, their own holdings, she says. But, she adds, Andrea says. this is the sort of collection that deserves to She credits the success of Accidental be shown to the people on whose behalf it Genius as inspiration for Uncommon Folk. was created. While the concept of Uncommon Folk has “This is the community’s collection,” been on her mind for a long time, it was the Andrea says — one to keep unveiling, hun- Petullo Collection that jarred it into exis- dreds of pieces at a time. tence, Andrea says. That collection focuses on European self-taught art, prompting Andrea to create a show emphasizing the American art that makes up the bulk of ON EXHIBIT MAM’s collection. Uncommon Folk continues through Uncommon Folk also provided Andrea May 4 at the Milwaukee Art Museum. with an opportunity to highlight the work The museum is open Tuesdays through of three individual self-taught artists who Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (8 p.m. have miniature exhibits in the gallery. Two Thursdays). Admission to Uncommon are Wisconsin-born: Albert Zahn, a Baileys Folk is included in museum admission, Harbor native who transformed his home which is $17, $14 for students, seniors into an art environment filled with wood- and military and free for members, sculpted birds and angels, and Eugene von teachers and children under 12. Bruenchenhein, a West Allis artist who worked in a variety of media but is best WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 23 Expect an energetic, upbeat show from Fitz and the Tantrums By Bill Lamb of energy because of what had happened Contributing writer with my former band. It was the same kind Fitz and the Tantrums may take their of happening, where I was introduced to the name in part from group leader Michael lead guy in that project (and) when we sang Fitzpatrick. But fans who’ve seen the band together it just worked.” live know his energetic counterpart Noelle Fitz and the Tantrums gained critical Scaggs on vocals and tambourine is indis- acclaim with its first album, 2010’sPickin’ pensable. Up the Pieces. I had the pleasure of first see- “The energy that you put out is what you ing the group live at festival dates following get back,” she says. “I’m not the kind of per- release of the first album. As it did at The son that likes to sit still onstage.” Rave, the band put on an energetic show, At the peak of commercial success, Fitz delivering memorable, upbeat songs. and the Tantrums returns to Wisconsin on The group’s music and stage perfor- May 6, when the band appears at Madison’s mance had a distinctive Motown, classic- Barrymore Theatre, just months after play- soul sound and feel. The sophomore col- ing Milwaukee’s The Rave last November lection, 2013’s More Than Just a Dream, has with Capital Cities. Fitz will return to Mil- been noted as having more of a 1980s pop waukee on July 4 for Summerfest. style. It resulted in the band topping the PHOTO: COURTESY I had the good fortune of speaking recent- alternative songs chart with the single “Out Fitz and the Tantrums. ly with Scaggs about her career and the of My League.” band’s upcoming Madison show. She began I asked Scaggs whether the band would “It’s always gonna be different,” Scaggs tive and rock radio. by describing her childhood with a father revisit that soul style in the future, or if she said. For instance, the band will take a Scaggs offered this advice for her fans: who worked in radio. sees it as a chapter in the group’s evolution. more intimate approach with its song “Last “Throw away all of your inhibitions when “My dad was a DJ, and I had access to “If you listen to our first record there is Raindrop,” which is how band members you come and see us play.” all kinds of vinyl,” she said. “It just kind of a lot of Eighties influence,” she said. “The originally intended it, she said. Among the seemed like something that was always influences were maybe more in the under- numbers performed will be “The Walker,” around the house.” tone, where on this record we really pulled which has become a fan favorite on alterna- Female R&B performers in particular things out and we wanted to develop that influenced Scaggs’ childhood. They became part of the sound as well. musical heroes. She said the group was picking up sounds “I listened to a lot of female artists grow- from the Talking Heads and seeking to capi- ing up,” she said. “The Pointer Sisters were talize on “Fitz having this really cool sort of one of them. I used to sing a lot of their Daryl Hall soulful voice. I think the more songs. En Vogue was another group.” we develop as a band and keep writing, the “When I was growing up, there were a songs are going to go whatever route they lot of female role models vocally speaking. want to take.” I grew up in the 1990s, so the R&B groups Of course, I had to ask about the band’s were very popular.” name. Scaggs said the late Teena Marie and “It was an idea given to us by a friend,” Sharon Jones were also big influences. Soul Scaggs responded. “We wanted something revival star Jones is a more recent hero. that represented us as a band and the live- Scaggs first saw her perform in the years energy aspect. It kind of became a play on just before formation of Fitz and the Tan- words, having a fit and a tantrum — seeing trums, and felt a kinship with the energy us onstage that’s really the vibe of it, six Jones delivered onstage. individuals just going at it on the floor.” Fitz and the Tantrums is not Scaggs’ first Scaggs said she’s been pleased that the project in the music business. In fact, she band draws a crowd across a wide range of has had an extensive career. ages: “It’s great to see you have the demo- “I was in a band called the Rebirth about graphic where you are touching the 2-year- 10 years before (Fitz),” she said. It was while olds to the 90-year-olds,” she enthused. performing with that group that she met I last saw Fitz and the Tantrums onstage future Fitz and the Tantrums saxophonist last November at The Rave, where the group James King, who was doing some arranging shared top billing. In Madison they’ll per- on a Rebirth record. When the Rebirth proj- form as sole headline act for the first time ect ended, she connected with King again in Wisconsin. on a short-term project. Has the show changed much since last A couple of months later, Scaggs got a fall? phone call followed by a text message men- tioning a friend Michael (Fitzpatrick), with ON STAGE whom King had just finished up an EP. The Fitz and the Tantrums perform at 7:30 message said to expect phone call. p.m. on Tues., May 6, at Madison’s Bar- “I listened to the music, and it just kind rymore Theatre, 2090 Atwood Ave. For of went from there,” she said. “We did one more info, go to www.barrymorelive.com. rehearsal. There was chemistry between Fitz and me. I was familiar with that kind 24 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014

SCREEN SAVOR: NEW VIDEO RELEASES

gruesome. Crashes and thuds are amplified with occasional lesbian overtones and lots so much that your skin vibrates. of slit throats and blood. But the message The “shocking alternate ending,” part of here is quite sound, as the film follows a an hour’s worth of bonus material, improves youth-obsessed culture willing to sacrifice on Peirce’s theatrical version finale, but it children in the quest for a youthful appear- still doesn’t compare to DePalma’s achieve- ance. Unfortunately, the messenger kills the ment. message. Chastity Bites simply isn’t scary, If Carrie is an attempt by Peirce, the funny or sexy enough to watch. acclaimed director of the Oscar-win- DVD special features include a behind ning Boys Don’t Cry, to go Hollywood, she just missed the mark. Not as catastrophic as the forgettable 2002 TV remake, Peirce’s Carrie is scary, but ultimately unnecessary.

“CARRIE” REMAKE EXPLODES giving birth to what will become the teleki- WITHOUT BOMBING netic and tortured teen Carrie (Chloë Grace Why do filmmakers insist on remaking Moretz). It turns out that White wasn’t even good movies when there are so many more aware she was pregnant until the day the PHOTO: COURTESY bad movies worthy of their attention? baby was born. She’d thought the swelling in Joni Mitchell. Brian De Palma’s 1976 version of Car- her abdomen was a cancerous tumor. rie remains a classic to this day. The first of Carrie stands up for herself more in the the scenes featurette and more. Stephen King’s novels to be adapted to the remake. Taking advantage of the updated FILM EXPLORES JONI MITCHELL’S big screen, Carrie earned Oscar nominations setting, the new Carrie explores her “magic HEART AND MUSIC for actresses Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie. powers” on the Internet. The Web also Girls Like Us, the biopic about Joni Mitch- The 2013 remake of Carrie didn’t share becomes a weapon against the put-upon ell, Carly Simon and Carole King is in devel- the same fate, although it did score a trophy teen in the classic scene in which she has PHOTO: COURTESY opment, with Taylor Swift cast as Joni (could in the favorite horror movie category at the her first period in the gym shower. The From “Chastity Bites.” you die?). At the same time Beautiful: The People’s Choice Awards. The remake is not proceedings are captured on a smartphone Carole King Musical is currently running on the lesbian feminist version hoped for from video and later uploaded online. ‘CHASTITY BITES’ IS ALL BARK Broadway. So what could be a better time out filmmaker Kimberly Peirce, but at least Peirce’s version of Carrie also makes Chastity Bites is low-budget camp horror/ for the SD Blu-ray release of Joni Mitch- it’s not the pervy exercise that DePalma’s use of updated special-effect techniques. slasher flick for the Mean Girls generation. ell’s Woman of Heart and Mind + Painting was (no bared breasts here). The climactic prom scene in which Carrie All around the town of San Griento, With Words and Music. Combining the 2003 Peirce’s interpretation, with a script by and class stud Tommy (Ansel Elgort) are women are disappearing. Their disappear- PBS American Masters doc Woman of Heart gay playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, crowned King and Queen, ramps ups the ances coincide with the arrival of the eter- and Mind with the 1998 CBC-produced honors both King’s novel and Lawrence D. violence and volume — a lot. When Carrie nally young and beautiful Liz Batho (Louise concert film Painting With Words and Music Cohen’s 1976 screenplay in a variety of and nemesis Chris (Portia Doubleday) come Griffiths), who has been summoned to help on one Blu-ray would be inspired any time. ways. It also expands on it. face-to-face on the road, with the corpse- right-wing families maintain their daugh- Woman of Heart and Mind is both a loving The movie opens with the fanatically strewn high school blazing in the back- ters’ virginity. But Liz’s motives are entirely tribute and an informative, well-constructed religious Margaret White (Julianne Moore) ground, Chris’ undoing is as poetic and it is different from those of the town’s fanati- portrait of one of the most (if not the most) cal, racist, homophobic and youth-obsessed influential singer/songwriters of her gen- mothers. eration. Included are interviews with virtu- Smart girl Leah (Allison Scagliotti), ally every major music industry player you who writes controversial articles for the can imagine, including (Joni’s ex) Graham school newspaper, has her doubts about Nash, David Crosby, James Taylor, journal- Liz. Unfortunately, Leah’s best friend, the ist Stephen Holden, MTV’s Bill Flanagan, equally nerdy Katharine (Francia Raisa), Eric Andersen, Tom Rush, David Geffen, has fallen under Liz’s spell. As if Leah didn’t Malka Marom, ex-husband Larry Klein and have her work cut out for her avoiding San Grammy-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Griento High School’s mean girls, whom she Fame inductee Mitchell herself. has christened the Hiltons, now she has to The film takes us from Mitchell’s early figure out Liz’s story before it’s too late for life in Maidstone, Saskatchewan, to 2003. Katharine. Significant events, from her reunion with the By the time Leah discovers Liz’s secret daughter she gave up for adoption while at (think 16th-century vamp Elizabeth Batho- art college to her groundbreaking musical ry), the body count is mounting. career (including missing out on performing In the end, it’s up to Leah and her new at Woodstock) to her success as a painter, and nerdy boyfriend Paul (Eduardo Rio- are interwoven with Mitchell’s evolution seco), who shares her fondness for Simone from folkie to pop star to jazz experimenter. de Beauvoir, to save the day. But first, Leah The vintage performance footage alone, has to lose her virginity so she won’t be of encompassing 18 songs from her career, interest to Liz. With that task out of the way, makes this documentary a must-have. The Leah is ready for all obstacles. Blu-ray’s bonus feature is made up of inter- Director John V. Knowles and screenwrit- view outtakes from Woman of Heart and er Lotti Phariss Knowles attempt to titillate Mind. WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 25 New in LGBT Young Adult novels 26 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 Local composer creates original work for Skylight By Michael Muckian and I remember nothing else about the play cial backers a revised version of I Hear Contributing writer itself but that we performed it for a school America Singing, the show that made Robbie Three theatrical friends past their prime assembly, largely because Norman Cum- a famous Broadway composer years ago. reunite to audition for the revival of I Hear mings, my teacher, believed in it. Roger’s alcoholism has stalled his career America Singing, a Broadway musical that and ended his marriage; he’s living with blends traditional ballads with new melo- How did I Hear America Singing come his ailing mother in Milwaukee. Rose lives dies featuring lyrics from the poetry of about? in Chicago and tours endlessly in B-level William Blake, A.E. Houseman, Gertrude This is brand new and very old at the regional productions. She’s worn-out and Stein and others. The friends share stories, same time. Half of the songs are my rein- seriously considering accepting a teaching relive memories and experience epiphanies terpretations of American folk tunes, rang- position. Robbie lives in Manhattan on the that composer Daron Hagen, a New Berlin ing from the Civil War era to World War I. Upper West Side (where the show takes native, describes as “a revolution of the The other half are new show tunes and art place). He hasn’t had a success in years. heart.” songs. The musical score is a crazy quilt of This show represents his comeback. PHOTO: COURTESY Hagen wrote the work specifically for eras and styles all held together by the three Daron Hagen. Skylight Music Theatre, and he’s return- characters and their story. What about the show’s deeper themes? ing to Milwaukee to direct the production, The characters experience revolution of of the characters in my operas sings is the which opens on May 9. A graduate of UW- Is the title an homage to Walt Whitman’s the heart as a reconnection with their ear- kind that they demand to sing, not the kind Madison, the Curtis Institute of Music and famous poem I Hear America Singing? lier selves, the acceptance of the necessity I’d like them to sing. That has made every the Juilliard School, Hagen is an accom- The title comes from the musical that for personal reinvention and the rebirth of one of my operas different from the others. plished composer, conductor, pianist, edu- the three characters in the play have come old love. The show’s score does the same The score to Singing is eclectic, colorful, cator, librettist and stage director. He’s one together to audition for backers. It also thing by taking old songs and making them highly tuneful and emotionally engaging. of the busiest men working in classical refers to all of the different styles of music new, and providing new songs that revisit contemporary music and opera. that the composer in the play hears and old tropes. The characters find closure and a You’re also directing the Skylight pro- We spoke recently about his career and loves. Finally, it is meant to conjure up the way to move forward by returning to an old duction. Tell me about your experience at the upcoming Skylight production. spirit of Whitman’s all-embracing, visionary show and making it new. the helm. American positivity. I made my professional debut as a stage Michael Muckian: Describe your musical Out composer Leonard Bernstein was director with the Kentucky Opera a few evolution growing up in Milwaukee. What is Singing about at a narrative an early champion of yours. How did that years ago, with site-specific stagings of New Daron Hagen: I grew up in New Berlin and level? evolve and how did fellow out composer York Stories, my trilogy of one-act operas. attended Elmbrook Schools, including Lin- The story’s quite simple. Three old Juil- Marc Blitzstein figure in the story? I’ll be directing my new opera, A Woman in field Grade School, where, as a sixth-grader, liard school chums — a composer named Harry Sturm, who ran a summer orches- Morocco, for them next season. I’ve directed I wrote, directed and starred in my first Robbie, a singer named Roger, and Roger’s tra for youngsters funded by Milwaukee Shining Brow in semi-staged versions several full-length play. Linfield School was recently ex-wife, a singer named Rose — reunite County at the time, graciously allowed me times, including the recorded version by the plowed under to make a new subdivision, at Robbie’s request to perform for finan- to compose and conduct a piece for that Buffalo Philharmonic available on Naxos. orchestra. My mother sent a recording and I’ve directed informally ever since conser- the score to Bernstein, whose enthusiastic vatory, including directing my opera based response galvanized our household. At his on Edward Albee’s play The Sandbox at the suggestion, I ultimately attended Juilliard. Curtis Institute. I was always attentive to I had little to do with him until he heard the work of directors like Stephen Wad- me improvising at the piano in the style of sworth, Ken Cazan (both Skylight alums) Marc Blitzstein one summer at Tanglewood. and a dozen others. I learned from them He challenged me on the spot to complete all. It became clear to me five years ago Blitzstein’s unfinished operaSacco and Van- that, because I had the skills, I also had zetti. I did not accept the challenge, but the responsibility, as composer Gian Carlo when I wrote Shining Brow, my first major Menotti admonished me in the 1980s, to opera, I took several scenes into work ses- eventually begin directing. sions with him. Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock had inspired me to write opera, and Where does your music fit into the new working with Bernstein was only a step classical music scene? away from Marc. I’ll forever be grateful I serve on various composition juries for the priceless, nuts-and-bolts practical because, as a citizen, it is my honor and music theater advice Bernstein gave me duty to do so. That is where, every couple of during those sessions. months, I get a snapshot of what other com- posers are doing. I get to know every major Tell me about Shining Brow, your work new opera immediately after the premiere, commissioned by the Madison Opera in if not before on a jury or during its develop- 1993. ment. I am amazed by the appetite so many Two visionary leaders of Madison Opera, composers have for new music. I just don’t general manager Ann Stanke and conductor have that appetite, probably because I am, Roland Johnson, were set on bringing to life every day, desperately in need of time to an opera about Frank Lloyd Wright. They write my own. contacted me. I said yes. I engaged the poet Paul Muldoon to co-write a story and to write the words. The opera — which was a ON STAGE big critical and popular success — launched Skylight Music Theatre’s production my career nationally as a theater composer. of Daron Hagen’s I Hear America Singing That was 20 years ago. I have since com- runs May 9 through June 1 at the Sky- posed nine more operas and am a known light Music Theatre’s Studio Theatre in quantity. the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee. For more infor- Describe your style of music. mation, call 414-291-7811 or visit www. What makes me hard to pin down by skylightmusictheatre.org. most observers is that the music each one WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 27 28 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 TJ Hoban is a straight man playing gay in a new Here TV series about a straight man playing gay

By Gregg Shapiro Gregg Shapiro: When did you first Contributing writer become interested in bodybuilding? Almost everything about the new gay TJ Hoban: I got into fitness, actually, by sitcom From Here On Out is designed to accident. I started training with weights make you laugh. From the clever title (Here when I was 12. I was just a little runt with TV + Out Magazine are owned by the same glasses and braces. All the way through conglomerate = From Here On Out, get it?) high school I couldn’t even get a date, let to the kooky sexual situations in which the alone talk to a girl. I needed to do some- characters find themselves. When you’re thing. I guess it’s the old Charles Atlas story not laughing, you can gaze dreamily at (laughs). That’s when I originally started eight-packed straight (but not narrow), lead working out and it stuck with me. It became actor TJ Hoban. A flawless fitness model, a part of my life and, actually, a coping Hoban’s graced the covers of countless mechanism for me ever since I was a kid. muscle mags as well as the International Now it’s something I do, five, six times a Male and Undergear catalogs. week, an hour a day. I started my profes- Not only is Hoban attractive enough to sional career as a fitness model, shooting all cause weakness in the knees, he’s also a the bodybuilding magazines, in, I think, my genuinely nice guy. A Chicago-native, TJ senior year. I happened to go to San Diego (which stands for Thomas Joseph) is smart, on spring break. A photographer stopped funny and easy to talk to. me on the beach and said, “I’d love to shoot WiG spoke with him in late March, short- you and submit you to some of these other ly before the premiere of From Here On Out. people that I have connections with.” TJ wanted me to let you know that you can From there I started working with Interna- watch him (and the show, of course) by tional Male, a catalog back in the day. I took ordering it at www.heretv.com/order-now. those pictures I took with the photographer PHOTO: COURTESY and sent them to all the fitness mags. Next Model-turned-actor TJ Hoban. thing you know, they all started calling, and I started shooting all this fitness stuff. Then it on its head was really unique and inter- if he has to pretend like he’s gay. He’s got to I’m doing endorsement deals for fitness esting — and I welcomed the challenge. come out of the closet to all of his friends products and workout programs for all kinds There’s a lot of stuff in the show that natu- and family and let everyone know so that of things. From Bowflex to you name it. A rally, as a person, makes me kind of uncom- everyone buys into it. That’s how desperate lot of the infomercials you see on TV. That’s fortable. But I’ve always been taught that Sam is to have success as an actor. kind of what started my fitness career. when it comes to acting, those things that make you uncomfortable are the things From Here On Out employs self-depre- When did you become interested in act- that usually get the best out of you. Instead cating humor, beginning with the way it ing? of shying away from them, tackle them. I pokes fun at some bodybuilders being por- I originally started when I was very young. also thought the script was amazing, which trayed as less intelligent. You mentioned My mother put me in drama when I was made it pretty easy. studying for your LSATs, so how do you feel six. I didn’t love it at all. I wanted to go play about that portrayal? Do bodybuilders you baseball. She wanted me to go to drama In the second episode, we learn that know have a sense of humor about that? with my sisters. After a few years of doing a while Sam isn’t gay, he doesn’t mind being I worked with Arnold (Schwarzenegger) few things around the city of Chicago, where perceived as being gay. How do you, as a and one of the things that stuck with me I grew up, touring around and doing plays straight actor, feel about that? the most after meeting him was his sense and musical stuff, I stopped. When I was I’ve been shooting fitness and underwear of humor. I really enjoy comedy, not just studying for my LSATs for law school and campaigns for years. Some of those fitness because I enjoy laughing, but because I majoring in finance, I would watch General mags are geared toward a gay demographic. enjoy making other people laugh at my own Hospital. At the time, Antonio Sabato was You can always tell by the ads in the back expense. I really enjoy the banter. If some- on the show and I would think, “Man, I could of the magazine. A lot of the underwear body gets the better of me, I love it. Body- do that! That looks a helluva lot easier than campaigns, especially International Male builders are often times perceived as not what I’m doing right now.” I decided after and Undergear, they were how I got started, the sharpest tools in the shed because they college I would actually come out to Los and they had a big gay following as well. put so much emphasis on their bodies. It’s a Angeles and give it a shot. I started study- I’m very comfortable in those situations stereotype. People like to compartmentalize ing with great acting coach Howard Fine, and I’m very comfortable in my own skin. on the whole. The better looking you are, and I worked my way up to his master class. How other people perceive me? To me, it’s typically, the stupider you must be. People I studied at Groundlings for comedy and something that is mostly out of my hands. don’t like to look at good-looking people improv for a couple of years, and a few other People are going to see what they want to as perfect and have all these wonderful coaches here and there. When I felt solid see anyway. One person’s fantasy is differ- attributes. They need something to laugh and ready, that’s when I got a manager and ent from another’s. With Sam, he was at the at about them. Usually intelligence is the an agent and started going out. end of his rope as an actor. He’s not getting lowest hanging fruit. It definitely humanizes any younger. He’s talented, but he hasn’t hit people who put a lot of emphasis on their What appeals to you about Sam? it yet. He hasn’t had his shot. He’s willing to body or their looks, so it works for comedy. Often times (there are stories about) do whatever it takes, within reason, to have Everyone has got to have their flaws, other- someone gay who’s in the closet, but not that shot. When this opportunity is pre- wise it’s not funny. I get it and it serves its (someone) straight (in the closet). To flip sented to him, he jumps at the chance, even purpose. WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 29

Hard-boiled: Making the most of leftover Easter eggs

By Michael Muckian CHILLED ASPARAGUS WITH DIRECTIONS until tender enough to purée. Contributing writer VINAIGRETTE AND EGGS Remove the tough ends of the Once the asparagus bundles are Planning to hide brightly colored MIMOSA asparagus spears and discard. Fur- cold, transfer them to a paper towel hard-boiled eggs around the house Credit Thomas Keller, owner and ther trim the ends until the spears and remove the twine. Cover aspar- for Easter Sunday? Make sure to chef extraordinaire of Napa Val- are of equal lengths and this time agus and refrigerate for at least 15 remember where you hid them. ley’s The French Laundry, for creat- save the trimmings. Bring a large minutes — but you can finish this Otherwise, come June they’ll emit ing the dish on which this recipe pot of salt water to a boil and pre- part of the recipe up to a day before not-so-gentle reminders. is based. Few chefs serving. The practice of decorating eggs can make a dish so Once the asparagus trimmings predates the Christian holiday of elegant out of ingre- EGG SALAD SANDWICH WITH DILL are tender, put them in a strainer Easter. Engraved ostrich eggs esti- dients so ordinary. This is an interesting spin on a classic. and plunge them into the ice bath, mated to be 60,000 years old have careful to preserve 1/2 cup of the been discovered in Africa, and it VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS boiling liquid. Once cool, add the was common practice to include trimmings to a blender with enough INGREDIENTS 8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled decorated ostrich eggs in the graves ¼ cup Dijon mus- of the boiling liquid to cover the of wealthy Egyptians and Sumeri- tard 2 tbsps. minced green onion blades. Pulse to break up the aspar- ans some 5,000 year ago. ½ cup red wine ¼ cup minced celery agus fibers, then blend into a puree. Easter eggs, also known as Pas- vinegar 1½ tbsps. Dijon mustard Once the mixture is smooth, blend chal eggs, date back to Christian- 1½ cups canola oil 2 tsps. white vinegar in 1 tbsp. of the olive oil and season ity’s earliest years. In the beginning, with salt to taste. (You can add ¼ cup mayonnaise they were stained red to reflect the DIRECTIONS more cooking liquid if necessary.) crucifixion. For many Christians, the Combine mustard ¼ tsp. salt Cover and refrigerate for up to a day potential of eggs to produce life and vinegar in a 2 cups iceberg lettuce, shredded before serving. symbolizes Christ rising from the blender and bend 2 tbsps. chopped dill To prepare the dish, remove the dead. for about 15 sec- 8 slices olive or other savory bread yolks from the hard-boiled eggs, Although the annual egg-dying push through the large holes in a onds. Slowly driz- Cracked black pepper ritual is a messy process, the nutri- zle 1/2 cup of the grater, then finely chop into egg- tional value of hard-boiled eggs far yolk confetti. Clean radishes and oil into the blender DIRECTIONS outweighs those of the jelly beans, while it is still run- discard tops. Finely slice the rad- Chop the eggs, then stir in the mustard, chocolate bunnies and marshmal- ishes, then slice the slices into fine ning. (You’re look- vinegar, onion, celery, mayonnaise and salt. low chicks found in Easter baskets. sticks. ing for a creamy Cover and chill. Toss together the lettuce and The carbohydrate-free egg is an Arrange asparagus into 4 stacks texture.) Trans- dill. Divide the egg salad mixture among four excellent source of protein and cal- on a cutting board or work surface, fer the mixture bread slices, then grind black pepper onto the cium, as well as vitamins A, B-12 then season with a pinch of salt. to a small bowl mixture. Add equal amounts of the lettuce/ and D. The yolks may be a little Spoon 2 tbsps. of the asparagus and whisk in the dill mixture to each sandwich, top with the long on cholesterol and the primary puree each into the center of four remaining oil. other slice, then serve. source of the 78 calories found in serving plates, then top with the each large chicken egg, but the ben- INGREDIENTS spears. Spoon 2 tsps. of the vinai- efits outweigh the liabilities when 2 lbs. of fresh grette over each mound of spears, eggs are consumed in moderation. asparagus then sprinkle about 2 tsps. of the But following the traditional Sun- 1 tbsp. and 2 tsps. extra-virgin olive pare an ice bath. Divide spears into egg yolks over each serving. Season day morning egg hunt, when two oil, plus a little more for drizzling four piles and, with tips facing the with a pinch of salt and a few grinds or three dozen colorful ovoids are 4 hard-boiled eggs same direction, use kitchen twine of black pepper. stacked in cheap wicker baskets 2 large radishes to tie the piles into bundles. Toss the radish sticks with the on your kitchen counter, moder- 3 tbsp. of the vinaigrette you just Blanch the bundles in the boil- chives, 2 tsps. of olive oil and salt ate consumption does not come to made ing water for 4 to 6 minutes, then and pepper to taste. Divide the rad- mind. The fun is over. Now what to 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. minced chives drop into the ice water bath. Take ish mixture among the servings on do with all those Easter eggs? Kosher salt the tender, trimmed asparagus top of the egg yolk mixture and Here are some recipes that will Freshly ground black pepper ends and drop them into the boiling drizzle lightly with additional oil. help you deplete the supply. water and blanch 4 to 7 minutes, or Serve chilled. 30 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 Forget sweet — try these savory sippers By Michael Muckian size the entire palate rather than just the process, much like adding a garnish. That Lapsang Souchong teabags Contributing writer sweet tooth. Here are a few you can try at takes time and its success depends on how 2 tbsp. smoked paprika By all accounts, Wisconsin’s favorite home: adept you are with, shall we say, the smok- 1 tsp. smoked ground black pepper cocktail is still the Brandy Old Fashioned ing gun. 12 oz. simple syrup made from 1 part brown Sweet. The name alone should tell you what SMOKING MARY As you might guess, a Smoking Mary is sugar and 1 part water it’s about. Smoke as a cocktail flavor has come a bloody mary — a base of tomato juice or Without getting technical, a BOFS is most a long way in the past few years, and V8 with spices and, in this case, a dash of DIRECTIONS often a blend of 2 to 3 ounces of Korbel some establishments, such as Madison’s chipotle sauce — blended with a smoked Mix all ingredients except the simple brandy, 7 Up, a dash or two of Angostura Merchant, actu- ally smoke some of liqueur. The portions are the same as when syrup together in a jar with a lid and place it bitters offset by a sugar cube, and maybe a their cocktails during the mixing using vodka, but here is a “smoking liqueur” in a cool, dark place for at least 3 to 5 days, dash of cherry juice or grenadine. Garnish recipe you can prepare ahead of time. or until it tastes and smells of smoke. Strain with orange slices and maraschino cher- ingredients through a mesh screen and add ries (2, please) and you have a glass of INGREDIENTS the simple syrup. Serve in place of vodka dessert on the rocks. 10 oz. vodka with the standard bloody mary mixture. But an increasing number of imbib- 10 oz. of a peat-smoked single malt scotch ers have discovered the joys of savory such as Laphroaig CYNAR TORONTO cocktails that embrace an entirely Nothing refreshes the palate quite like different flavor palette. In a collision 2 the bitter flavor Cynar (pronounce “CHEE- of Foodie Nation and cocktail culture, nar.”) The Italian cordial is made from 13 mixologists are experimenting with a herbs and plants, the principal of which wider range of ingredients. The results is the artichoke. The Cynar Toronto is an of those efforts have generated a new exotic take on the more familiar Manhattan. generation of savvy savory sippers. New flavor combinations empha- COCKTAILS next page

WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 31

COCKTAILS from prior page 2 cups sugar 1½ tsps. salt INGREDIENTS 2 oz. brandy or vodka 4 oz. rye whiskey ½ tsp. orange flower water (optional) 1½ oz. Cynar ½ tsp. rose water (optional) 2 tsps. simple syrup 4 dashes Angostura bitters DIRECTIONS Soak peanuts in a large bowl of water DIRECTIONS and let stand for 30 minutes. Remove the Add all four ingredients in a shaker filled peanuts, careful to save the liquid, and with ice. Shake, then strain into the two grind them in a food processor until finely cocktail glasses. Cynar’s bitterness nicely chopped. (Do not purée.) Place the ground tempers the sweetness of the rye, making peanuts in a cheesecloth bag and place the the cocktail interesting, balanced and ulti- bag in the saved liquid. Cover and let stand mately refreshing. for 2 hours. Remove the bag and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Return the BARBACOA bag to the liquid and let stand for 6 more Mezcal was once considered the poor hours, squeezing every 2 hours. Strain the man’s tequila, but over the years it has liquid, discarding any solids, and pour into developed a fan base all its own for brands a medium saucepan over low heat. Add bottled both with and without the worm. sugar and salt, stirring until fully dissolved. Remove from the heat, let cool and add INGREDIENTS brandy or vodka, as well as the orange 3 slices bell pepper flower water and rose water if desired. 3 lime wedges ½ tsp. pureed chipotle pepper CLASSIC MICHELADA ½ oz. lemon juice Somewhere along the line, Mexican beer ½ oz. ginger syrup lovers decided it would be a good idea to ¾ oz. Agave nectar add flavors to their brews. But the classic 2 oz. Mezcal michelada, as the concoctions are called, goes far beyond a lime wedge in your Coro- DIRECTIONS na. There are many variations, but for this To make ginger syrup, combine 3 parts one you need: ginger juice, 2 parts sugar and 1 part water and shake until the sugar dissolves. Muddle INGREDIENTS bell pepper and lime wedges in a shaker, 1 bottle or draft of Mexican lager-style beer then add the remaining ingredients and fill 1 lime wedge with ice. Shake, then pour unstrained into Salt a double Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with Cayenne pepper beef jerky. ½ oz. fresh lime juice 2 drops Tabasco sauce TALLULAH 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce Few cocktails are named after famous 1 pinch ground black pepper screen actresses, but Tallulah Bankhead 1 pinch celery salt would have been proud to lay claim to this concoction that honors several elements of DIRECTIONS her Southern heritage. Rub the rim of a pint glass with the lime wedge, then coat the rim with equal parts INGREDIENTS of salt and cayenne pepper. Add remaining 2 oz. Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey or ingredients to the glass and fill with the your favorite bourbon beer. Add a fresh lime wedge as garnish. 1 oz. Coca-Cola 1 oz. peanut orgeat Peanut halves for garnish To make the orgeat, you need: 2 lbs. unsalted nuts 20 oz. water 32 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014

‘Skin Tight’ shows love’s profundity

PHOTO: COURTESY Leah Dutchin and Braden Moran in Skin Tight. By Tom Strini But the space reads as a sort of limbo, a Special to WiG sunny, wide-open nowhere with plenty of What is love? You really want to know? room for the lovers to romp. Go see Gary Henderson’s Skin Tight at Henderson assigned Tom and Elizabeth Renaissance Theaterworks. dangling, meandering conversations, some Love is a wild beast, at least as Elizabeth of them teasing run-ups to combat and and Tom, an Aussie farm couple, practice it. love-making. Others of them reveal their Leah Dutchin and Braden Moran dash onto histories. Little by little, we get a fix on this the set at the start. They hop onto a raised couple: Schoolmates in rural Australia in the platform about the size of a boxing ring. 1930s, he’s off to war, comes home to her, They square off and punch, parry, grapple they marry, work a farm, have a daughter. and throw in convincing fight choreography I won’t be more specific because piecing devised by Maria Gillespie and Ryan Scha- things together on the fly is near the top bach, with Laura Gordon directing. of the long list of charms of watching this This goes on for some time, without a play. But I will say that as we grasp their word spoken. At first, you worry about histories, Skin Tight becomes a memory play. Elizabeth: Is this a rape scene? But after It also becomes increasingly poignant, but a few moments, the eager aggression in not sentimental or cloying. It becomes more Dutchin’s expressive, open face and the purposeful as we come to understand the sly smile on Moran’s mark this as rough climactic nature of this particular conversa- play. They’re avid and skilled as ath- tion between these people. letes up for the game, but the term “final As they demonstrate their love in many score” has a new meaning in this contest. ways, not all of them sexual, we come to Elizabeth comes out on top, in position understand the profundity of that love. And to deliver the knockout blow. Instead, she while the play takes on more weight, it bears delivers a long, delicious, panting, eagerly that weight lightly. Elizabeth and Tom don’t accepted kiss. philosophize. They live. Love takes many guises and erotic strate- Gordon has led her actors to an authentic gies. Combat — highly physical but never- place with Elizabeth and Tom. Dutchin and theless mock — is theirs. Even more pro- Moran wrestle with the virtuosity of strong, vocative foreplay involves the knife Moran physical people who’ve had years of practice uses to slice the apples the two devour at at their special ways of love. They pay no intervals. mind to the audience or theatrical conven- Dutchin and Moran are so attractive, so tion. They focus entirely on each other. They committed physically and emotionally to give us Elizabeth and Tom as they were their characters and so free in their expres- when no one else was looking and their love sion that we don’t mind not knowing what’s most fully realized. What a beautiful thing going on for the first half of the play. On one to see. hand, the youthful actors behave like espe- cially lusty and imaginative newlyweds; on For more of veteran cultural writer Tom the other, they have the techniques and ritu- Strini’s insights, visit his blog at striniwrites. als that loving couples develop over years. The action takes place on and around ON STAGE the square, which has a resilience suggest- Skin Tight runs in the Studio The- ing stacked gym mats beneath a taught atre of the Broadway Theatre Center fabric cover. A claw-foot bathtub, filled with through April 27. For tickets and fur- water that figures prominently in the play, ther information call 414-291-7800 or stands at the upstage edge. Beyond that, a go to http://www.r-t-w.com. Caution: wide, bright landscape shines between the Full nudity at the end of the play. slats of a wall of barn wood. Jason Fassl’s set, lighting and projection hints at a farm. WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 33

ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS

while starring in the show, as well Grammys in 2012 for its studio Zendaya, performing on Aug. 2. as the useful and dangerous les- recording. The Florentine revival Fellow Disney actor Trevor Jack- sons he learned from his char- of Gantry in March will feature son and the recurring “Happy acter. Cranston, also known for a different cast than its 2011 Together” ’60s rock tour take the his roles as the father on TV’s Midwest premiere, but one that stage on Aug. 3, featuring various Malcolm in the Middle and in the includes many former perform- artists from The Turtles, Three film Argo, is currently starring as ers, including Craig Verm in the Dog Night, Mitch Ryder & The President Lyndon B. Johnson in title role and Maestro Christopher Detroit Wheels and more. Sugar- the Broadway show All the Way Larkin conducting the Milwaukee land’s Kristian Bush will open for and will next be seen on screen in Symphony Orchestra. Lady Antebellum on Aug. 9. The the Godzilla reboot this summer. Earlier in the season, the Flo- Wisconsin State Fair will runs July PHOTO: COURTESY rentine will attempt to tap into 31-Aug. 10. Tickets are on sale for Milwaukee Art Museum. that recording magic once again all shows at wistatefair.com. with Wuthering Heights, an oper- MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM atic adaptation of the Emily Bron- MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES RENOVATION te novel by Carlisle Floyd that will HIRES NEW CURATOR CAMPAIGN be staged at the Sharon Lynne Museum officials announced The Milwaukee Art Museum Wilson Center, where it will be on April 9 that Brandon Ruud is SURPRISE FOR LORDE announced April 7 its plans to recorded professionally for the joining the Milwaukee Art Muse- Pop singer Lorde says she’s sur- embark on a $25-million project first time. um as the new Constance and prised to hear she is one of the to restore the War Memorial and STEPHEN COLBERT TO The season’s two new produc- Dudley J. Godfrey Jr. Curator of most nominated artists for next Kahler buildings and reinstall REPLACE LETTERMAN IN tions bookend the year. The Flo- American Art and Decorative month’s Billboard Music Awards. the galleries housed there. The 2015 HANDOFF rentine will open in the fall with a Arts. His start date is later this The New Zealand teenager says renovation will involve tackling CBS announced April 10 that new staging of Wagner’s ghostly month. Ruud is currently curator that every time she wins an award years of deferred maintenance comedian Stephen Colbert, best tale The Flying Dutchman, marking of American art at the Sheldon she is “super surprised, because I that have resulted in a leaky roof, known for his satirical faux-con- the first time the company has Museum of Art at the University kind of forget that anyone listens mold and foundation problems. In servative talk show The Colbert performed a Wagner work since of Nebraska. His 20-year career to my music.” conjunction with the renovation, Report on Comedy Central, will 2004. The season concludes in also includes positions at the Jos- She says being nominated is a 17,000-square-foot addition succeed David Letterman as the the spring with Donizetti’s roman- lyn Art Museum in Omaha, Neb., “incredible” and “an honor.” with a lakefront entrance is to be host of the Late Show upon his tic comedy L’Elisir D’Amore (The and the Art Institute of Chicago. Lorde is a finalist for the music built. The expansion will allow the retirement in 2015. Letterman, Elixir of Love), set in California award in 12 categories, thanks to museum to put more works from who has hosted the Late Show wine country. Completing the her Grammy-winning multiplati- its 30,000-piece collection on since 1993, after being passed season is the Florentine’s annual num hit “Royals.” display. The Calatrava-designed over for NBC’s The Tonight Show Valentine’s Day concerts — with She says she is in music for the Quadracci Pavilion will remain following Johnny Carson’s depar- music from Vienna to the Great long term and adds “I don’t see open throughout construction, ture, announced a week earlier White Way — featuring the Stu- myself not making music any time which is scheduled to begin this that he would not renew his con- dio Artists. For more information, soon.” fall. tract, which expires next year. The go to florentineopera.org. decision will pit Colbert against NEW FOOD FESTIVAL the current two Jimmys of late- CELEBRATES LGBT CHEFS night talk shows — ABC’s “veter- This fall, a new Los Angeles an” Jimmy Kimmel, who has been event titled CookOUT/Rock- hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! since OUT will become the first food 2003 and recent Tonight Show and music festival to celebrate heir Jimmy Fallon, who began his LGBT chefs and other food lumi- run this February. naries. Founder Bruce Seidel, a Details on the transition are former Food Network executive unclear, but Colbert has con- responsible for developing Iron firmed that he will not be hosting Chef America and Next Food Net- the Late Show in character as his work Star, says he came up with conservative persona, which will the idea while thinking of creat- be retired at the end of The Colbert USHER TO CLOSE ing a television program tailored Report. SUMMERFEST IN ONLY toward mentoring food profes- SHOW OF THE SUMMER sionals dealing with coming out FLORENTINE’S 81ST R&B artist and The Voice judge or other issues. The festival is SEASON INCLUDES ‘ELMER Usher will be the last Marcus designed to be small, aiming for BRYAN CRANSTON’S GANTRY’ REMOUNT Amphitheater act of Summerfest, only about 400 to 500 attendees. ‘BREAKING BAD’ MEMOIR The Florentine Opera unveiled ARETHA FRANKLIN according to festival officials. It’s to be held at a Los Angeles DUE IN FALL 2015 its 81st season on April 8, a selec- JOINS STATE FAIR LINEUP Usher is set to perform on July estate built by a 1920s silent film Emmy-winning actor Bryan tion of five offerings that includes Music legend Aretha Frank- 6, following opening artist Bebe star. Individual chefs and musical Cranston recently signed a pub- two new productions, a concert lin will headline the Wisconsin Rexha. The appearance is Usher’s performers are still being booked, lishing contract with Scribner for staging with the potential to State Fair on Aug. 5, organizers only concert of the summer fes- but LGBT community members a “deeply candid” memoir about become a premiere commercial announced earlier this month. tival season. The show will come who have already signed on his time playing Walter White recording and the return of the The 72-year-old Queen of Soul shortly before the anticipated include the proprietors of Big Gay in AMC’s Breaking Bad. Scribner company’s greatest triumph in will perform a wide selection of late-year release of his eighth stu- Ice Cream and Art Smith, Oprah’s announced on April 3 that the recent years — Elmer Gantry. The hits, including “Respect” and dio album. Usher is the ninth main former personal chef. still-untitled book will be released latter, which recounts tale of an “Chain of Fools.” stage act revealed for the 11-day in fall 2015, and will disclose both early 20th century preacher’s rise Other headliners announced festival. Other headliners are yet the “secrets and lies” he endured and fall, won the Florentine two are former Disney Channel star to be announced. — Matthew Reddin and AP 34 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 GARDENING 101

ACROSS 57. Hang a banner, e.g. 24. Club enforcer 1. Torah expert 60. *Refuse turned fertilizer 25. Tina Fey/Amy Poehler 6. Chain letters 64. Ancient assembly area schtick, e.g. 9. Barred bed 65. Unagi 26. Siddhartha author 13. Shoelace tip 67. Like outside-of- 27. Conforming to dietary laws 14. *First gardening mo.? mainstream art for Muslims 15. Unit of money in Poland 68. Relating to aquarium scum 29. Greek god of war 16. Abdul or Zahn 69. Shag rug 31. Soak some ink 17. White House Dwight 70. “Spaghetti Western” 32. Opposite of urban 18. Big dipper maker Sergio _____ 33. Question in dispute 19. *Climber support 71. Short of “history” 34. Hindu garment 21. *Tiny garden shovel 72. Sophomore’s grade 36. Mischievous Norse deity 23. Afflict 73. Dog-_____ book 38. *What Venus Flytrap eats 24. Lick 42. Opera house exclamation 25. “Be quiet!” DOWN 45. *One-time plant 28. “Ta-ta!” in Italy 1. Feeling great delight 49. Poetic “always” 30. *Cross between varieties 2. Lab culture 51. “He fights like a lion,” e.g. 35. Church sound 3. *Like many Gentians or 54. Warn or arouse Delphiniums 37. Mojito, ___ drink 56. Sleeper’s woe 4. Swan of “Twilight” 39. Wintry mix 57. Wrinkly fruit 5. Emphatic, in print 40. Norse capital 58. Wooden pegs 6. Honoree’s spot 41. Brightest star in Cygnus 59. Short for brotherhood 7. *Short for nitrogen, 60. Family group 43. Approximately, two words phosphorous, potassium 44. Japanese port 61. *The corpse flower is 8. Thin mountain ridge famous for its bad one 46. Slash mark 9. Old-fashioned bathtub foot 62. Cosine’s buddy 47. Drawn tight 10. *What gardener did to 63. ____ up a golf ball, past 48. House cat, e.g. riding lawn mower tense 50. Greek H’s 11. It will, contraction 64. “I see!” 52. *Special Hawaiian flowers 12. “So long!” 66. *Potato bud form this garland 15. Plural of #15 Across 53. Getting warm 20. Homeric epic 55. “Street” in Italy 22. Rally repeater WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 35 36 WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM April 17, 2014 Out on the town Apr. 17–Apr. 29 A curated calendar of upcoming events

‘ROMEO AND JULIET’ 8 p.m. on Fri., April 18, and Sat., April 19 ‘OATESLAND’ April 17 to 26 The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra has The Bricks Theatre brings to life a home- performed the instrumental portions of bal- grown Madison play 10 years after its first lets and operas dozens of times, so that’s reading. Oatesland is a tale set very far from not what makes its concert this weekend, the city that birthed it. The work, about three built around Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and U.S. soldiers stationed at an Antarctic mili- Juliet, especially notable. It’s the addition of tary base who are suddenly visited by a mys- guest actors, borrowed from the Milwaukee terious figure, began as a selection of Madi- Rep for the evening and directed by Mark son College’s NewWorks Play Development Clements in accompanying scenes. And, Program. After additional workshops with if that’s not enough storytelling for you, Forward Theater Company and the Wiscon- the evening begins with an overture to an sin Wrights project, it’s now ready for prime entirely different Shakespeare play —A time. The production finally makes its world Midsummer Night’s Dream — composed by premiere at the Bartell Theatre, 113 E. Mifflin Mendelssohn, as well as Chausson’s Poeme St. Tickets are $20. Go to bartelltheatre.org. for Violin and Orchestra, inspired by a short story by Russian author Ivan Turgenev. At the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water St. Tickets range from $25 to $105. Phone 414-291-7605 or mouse over to mso.org.

‘DAVID’S REDHAIRED DEATH’ 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from April 18 to 26 The Underground Collaborative hosts a production of Sherry Kramer’s David’s Red- haired Death. The plot involves Jean and Marilyn, two women newly in love, whose relationship is put to the test when they learn Jean’s brother has died. The produc- tion features local actors Tess Cinpinski and Amanda J. Hull (as well as Zachary Dean and Michael T. Black). At 161 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee. Tickets are $15 and can be ordered online at brownpapertickets.com/ event/591606. MIAD SENIOR EXHIBITIONS April 18 to May 10 More than 150 seniors graduating from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design put their final projects on display for the next three weeks in the largest exhibition of its kind in the state. A staple of the spring gallery season, this year’s exhibition includes work by the winners of MIAD’s Alumni Thesis Exhibition Scholarship: Aaron Rourke, whose industrial design, Echo, is a cost-effective system that can help prevent lethal hypoglycemia in chil- dren with Type I diabetes; Amy Trompeter, an artist who focuses on citation and appro- priation in visual art with her work, includ- ing the recreation of an Italian Renaissance PHOTO: EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM masterpiece as a paint-by-number work; Traditional Kabuki-style theater. and Indie La Londe, who has created a work existing between 2D and 3D with a mosaic installation made out of mirrors. The exhi- ‘RICHARD III’ April 18 to May 3 bition is free. An opening reception takes This production presents Shakespeare’s Richard III as you’ve never seen it performed. UW-Madison’s theater department and director place from 5 to 9 p.m. during Spring Gallery David Furumoto adhere to the text of the Bard’s history play about the hunchbacked Duke of Gloucester as he claws his way to the throne Night on Friday, April 25. At 273 E. Erie St. in of England. But their staging comes with a twist: It’s done Kabuki style, resulting in an East-meets-West fusion of Elizabethan text and Milwaukee’s Third Ward. For more informa- Japanese color and theatricality. At Mitchell Theatre, 821 University Ave. Tickets are $23, $16 for students and Friends of UT, and $21 for tion, call 414-847-3200 or visit miad.edu/ seniors. Call 608-265-2787 or visit theatre.wisc.edu. seniorexhibition.

WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 Out on the town Apr.17 –Apr. 29

BUBBLER AWARDS AND MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM LOCK-IN 6 p.m. on Sat., April 19 NEWaukee’s Young Professionals Week features dozens of events. But the biggest event of all is the Bubbler Awards, presented each year to 10 individuals who’ve positively impacted the community. This year, the awards are being held during a Milwaukee Public Museum lock-in, which gives attendees the opportunity to explore the museum after dark. In addition to the Bubbler Awards ceremony, the event includes short films screened by doc|UWM and three TED-style talks. At the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St. Tickets are $50, and are only available for attendees age 21 and older. For the full schedule, go to newaukee.com.

PHOTO: COURTESY This couch from the Milwaukee Rep’s production of Noises Offcould be among the items on sale at this year’s end-of-season garage sale.

MILWAUKEE REP’S END-OF-SEASON GARAGE SALE 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sat., April 19 The Milwaukee Repertory Theater has opened all 11 shows in their season, but still has one more offering for patrons. The annual End-of-Season Garage Sale serves as spring PHOTO: COURTESY cleaning for the Rep’s costume, prop and production departments, but for you it’s an SURE, HE’S DEAD, BUT YOU’VE PROBABLY SPENT THE NIGHT WITH WORSE: This opportunity to take home a piece of this season’s plays, including puppets from Forever preserved human figure is part of Bodyworks, the current traveling exhibition on display Plaid, posters from I Left My Heart, furniture from Noises Off — and more. At the Milwaukee at the Milwaukee Public Museum. The Bubbler Awards provide the opportunity to spend Repertory Theater, 108 E. Wells St. the evening of April 19 locked in the museum.

WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM| April 17, 2014 A curated calendar of upcoming events

‘PLUGGED IN’ April 24 to 26; May 8 to 10 LYDIA LOVELESS EARTH POETS AND 8 p.m. on Wed., April 23 Danceworks goes from studio to night- club with Plugged In, the final show of the MUSICIANS 8 p.m. on Fri., Punk and classic country don’t group’s 2013–14 season. In this interactive April 25, and Sat., April 26 seem like the coziest of bedfellows, music and dance concert, Tyrone Miller — Every April for the past 27 but Lydia Loveless isn’t the sort of aka DJ Bizzon — will improvise alongside years, a collective of poets and singer who would let a thing like that dances by the company and guest hip hop musicians has united in Milwau- get in her way. The 21-year-old Ohio artists, directed by Joelle Worm. Rounding kee to celebrate Earth Day with native first unveiled her mashup of out the evening is a reprisal of artistic direc- ecologically friendly performanes. the two genres with 2012’s Indestruc- tor Dani Kuepper’s remixed-Mussorgsky This year’s featured artists include tible Machine, an unvarnished record piece, …in the night and a visit from Jason Jahmes Finlayson, Holly Haebig that earned national recognition. Powell (recently seen in Temptation’s Snare Wake, Suzanne Rosenblatt, Har- She’s currently touring to promote her and remounting his Fortuna the Time-Bend- vey Taylor and group founder Jeff follow-up Somewhere Else, an equally er opera later this spring), who’ll be the Poniewaz. They’ve organized two unique recording that gives her the frontman for a set of Talking Heads and events for Earth Day weekend. On chance to put her stamp on both B-52s-inspired music. At Danceworks Stu- Friday, 15 artists join the collective halves of her musical identity. At High dio Theatre, 1661 N. Water St., Milwaukee. for Twenty Performers in Two Hours Noon Saloon, 701A E. Washington Tickets are $20, $25 for reserved seats, and for the Earth, at the Urban Ecology Ave., Madison, with Rodeo Bums as $15 for students. Call 414-277-8480 or visit Center, 1500 E. Park Place, Mil- the opening act. Tickets are $10 and danceworksmke.org to order. waukee; on Saturday, spoken word can be purchased at high-noon.com. artist Dasha Kelly performs with the collective at the Coffee House, 631 N. 19th St., Milwaukee. A sug- ’80: EIGHT DECADES gested donation for both events OF SONG’ is $5. 7:30 p.m. on Fri., April 25, and Sat., April 26 In 1934, a group of former Riverside High School a cappella singers got together as a brand-new community chorus to perform a concert for Milwaukee. It’s unlikely they thought the group would still exist eight

decades later as the Milwaukee Choristers. PHOTO: PFISTER HOTEL They’ll perform an 80th anniversary con- Spoken word artist Dasha Kelly. cert to celebrate their longevity, featuring such favorite pieces as John Rutter’s Gloria, selections from Les Miserables, and works by Mozart, Handel and more. Retired cho- risters and members of Riverside’s current high school choirs will perform. At Wiscon- sin Lutheran College’s Schwan Hall, 8815 W. Wisconsin Ave., Wauwatosa. Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors and $5 for students. Go to milwaukeechoristers.org.

THE MOWGLI’S 9:30 p.m., Fri., April 25 Alt rock band The Mowgli’s took off last year when the single “San Francisco,” a poppy tribute to the group’s home base, became an anthem of the summer. The rest of Mowgli’s debut LP, a blend of California gloss and folk revivalism titled Waiting for the Dawn, didn’t catch fire the same way. The group is among the featured performers in UW-Madison’s WUD Music Presents series of free concerts. Don’t miss the opportunity to embrace the sounds of summer early and catch this up-and-coming group for free. At Union South, 1308 W. Dayton St., Madison. For more info, go to wudmusic.com. PHOTO: COURTESY The Mowgli’s.

WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014 Out on the town Apr. 17 - Apr. 29 A curated calendar of upcoming events

CENTRAL WISCONSIN CONCERTINA FESTIVAL April 25 to 27 Wisconsin’s favorite free-reed, polka- producing instrument takes center stage at the Central Wisconsin Concertina Festival, an annual celebration of this relative to the accordion. Over three days, more than 100 musicians from across Wisconsin and beyond will gather in the center of the state for free concertina performances. At 1208 N. Center Ave., Merrill, Wis. Call the city’s chamber of commerce at 715-536-9405 for more information.

‘DEAD MAN WALKING’ BREW CITY SAFARI 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 27 8 p.m. on April 25 and Ever wanted to see what Milwaukee looks like in the wee hours of the morning, 2:30 p.m. on April 27 once the bar scene’s stumbled off and before the morning commute kicks in? You’re Madison Opera concludes its in luck: The urban explorers of Brew City Safari are organizing a very early morning season with Dead Man Walking, group hike from Bay View’s Kinnickinnic Park to the East Side Colectivo on Prospect a powerful work by Jake Heg- Ave. The six-mile trek is expected to take about three to four hours, which means it gie and Terrence McNally that’s should wrap up right about when the sun peeks above Lake Michigan. For informa- already considered a modern tion about the free outing, check out brewcitysafari.com. classic. The opera is based on Sr. Helen Prejean’s work as spiritual advisor to a Louisiana inmate on death row. Expect an evening of PROMETHEUS TRIO 7:30 p.m. on Mon., April 28, and on Tues., April 29 life-changing music and theater. Another Prometheus Trio season draws to a close at the end of this month, and the Wis- At Overture Hall, 201 State St. consin Conservatory-based group has put together a program that will serve as a fitting Tickets range from $18 to $121 temporary farewell until it reunites this fall. On the docket are the courtly Trio in A Major and can be ordered at 608-258- by Haydn, an arrangement of Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, and one of the most beloved 4141 or overturecenter.com. pieces in the group’s repertoire, Brahms’ Trio in B Major. At the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, 1584 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee. Tickets are $25, $35 for premium seats and $15 PHOTO: COURTESY for students. Phone 414-276-5760 or go to wcmusic.org. Michael Mayes in Dead Man Walking.

WISCONSINGAZETTE.COM | April 17, 2014